Are We Free To Speech?!

💛Your Rights
💜The Institute for Free Speech defends your First Amendment right to freedom of speech, press, assembly, and petition.
Making your voice heard in government involves more than voting on Election Day. First Amendment rights empower you to hold your representatives accountable year-round. You have the right to write a letter to your member of Congress advocating better government policies, to start a Facebook group about politics, and to organize a rally or protest. The First Amendment enables you to have your say about policy and politics. These fundamental liberties – the right to free speech, the right to peaceably assemble, the right to free press, and the right to petition your government – are essential to preserving a healthy democracy.

💛Unfortunately, government continually infringes on your cherished rights. Powerful politicians propose laws that seek to restrict their critics and challengers. These laws limit your ability to speak about candidates and government, impose heavy burdens on your right to associate, and violate your privacy when you seek to get involved in elections or public policy.

💜We do not just believe in these principles, we put them into action. We represent clients whose First Amendment rights have been violated. We sound the alarm bell when new government proposals threaten your free speech. Our analysis, research, and media outreach provides you, and others like you, the ammunition to fight for your rights.

💛As an international student, I saw American people have defended everyday Americans, who have run afoul of the law simply for exercising their First Amendment rights. Our clients only “crimes” were such commonplace actions as talking to legislators, spending a few hundred dollars to publish a policy paper, or wanting to join an organization without the government publishing their private information online. They have gotten in trouble for basic First Amendment activity, like putting up a political sign in their yard and communicating with neighbors about politics over the internet.

💜Driven by these stories, all of our work has one fundamental goal: We will protect your First Amendment rights – no matter what you believe or who you are. In a democracy, free speech is how we improve our government and our society. It protects us from being punished for our beliefs and empowers us to persuade others to our views. It is every American’s constitutional right.

What is News Deserts?!

💙Definition:
“News Deserts” is a community, either rural or urban, with limited access to the sort of credible and comprehensive news and information that feeds democracy at the grassroots level.
💙What is the News Deserts?
A news desert refers to a community that is no longer covered by daily newspapers. The term emerged in the United States after hundreds of daily and weekly newspapers were closed in the 2000s and the 2010s. According to a study in 2018 by the UNC School of Media and Journalism, more than 1,300 communities in the U.S. are considered news deserts. Other communities, while not technically a news desert, may be covered by a ghost newspaper, a publication that has become a shadow of its former self.

💙Data of News Desert in the US
❤ Online news sites, as well as some TV newsrooms and cable access channels, are working hard to keep local reporting alive, but these are taking root far more slowly than newspapers are dying. Hence the 1,300 communities that have lost all local coverage.
❤ About 20 percent of all metro and community newspapers in the United States — about 1,800 — have gone out of business or merged since 2004, when about 9,000 were being published.

💙For example:

 Local newsrooms have disappeared across the country in the face of lowered subscription and advertising revenue, corporate consolidation, and the rise of the tech giants. In 2017, Google and Facebook took half of all advertising revenue worldwide. They're also expected to take 83 percent of every new dollar spent on advertising in the future. Facebook and Google's growing piece of the advertising pie has meant less money for news organizations of all stripes.

❤ In Facebook's own news desert research, it found that one in three Facebook users live in an area without a significant amount of local news coverage. Facebook made this determination by judging whether an area produced enough local news to participate in Facebook's local news dissemination program, "Today In."

Three Major Issues Concerning Online Privacy & How To Avoid Them

💣Internet is the fastest way of connecting with the world but, unfortunately, it is not the safest one. The internet is full of scams and gambles, and you are on the verge of security risks when you choose to be online. Most internet users are least bothered about their online privacy and are unaware of the plausible risks associated with it. Not only your privacy but your safety is also endangered, especially when you are using the internet to carry out important and secretive tasks like online banking and sharing crucial business files.

💢Spying and Snooping
When you are online, you are spied by a number of trackers for various purposes. Trackers keep a record of your search history and track all your online activities through various means. This provides them a clear picture of who you are and your interests, which is a breach of online privacy policy and makes you a public property. Most of the time, this tracking is for advertisement purposes only and it allows advertisers to show ads according to your taste and interests. But sometimes this information is used by cybercriminals to carry out unauthorized and illegal activities risking your online existence.

💥Information Mishandling
There are various sites on the internet that need your personal information to get access to their services. These sites often store cookies and save your personal information and later use it for various purposes. Most of the time this information is not encrypted and can be accessed by anyone. This mishandling of personal information may lead to serious consequences. The modern trend of e-banking and e-business portals have multiplied the risks associated with online privacy. By sharing your bank details and crucial files on the internet, you are paving ways for burglars and making yourself vulnerable to cybercriminals.

💢Location Tracking
Most of the internet users proudly upload their social media posts highlighting their current location along with tagging friends and family members. It's fun and exciting to share your life events with friends and family, but this data does not remain restricted to your expected audience only. This same data is stored on the social media site you are using and stays there forever, often without you knowing (though you may have given consent through a terms and services agreement). Along with social media apps, Google Maps and other apps also ask for your location and by turning on your location you are providing first-hand information to the world about where exactly you are and what your next move is, which is certainly risky and insecure.

💥Five Possible Ways to Protect Against Online Privacy Threats
There is no way to completely avoid threats and attacks, but still, there are some steps you can take to avoid being victim on the internet. Here are some measures that should be followed:

💢Use a VPN
👉There are various ways of protecting your online privacy, but the most successful and certain way is through VPN. It is a tool that provides an encrypted tunnel for all your online activities, which means it encodes all the information transferred between you and your host site and leaves no chances of snooping and spying. It also provides you an anonymous IP and disguises your actual identity, hiding your geographical location and making your online existence more safe and secure.
👉There are various VPN available including free and paid ones. Some VPN work on a small scale and have access to a few countries only while others are international ones with access to most parts of the world.

💥Conduct Safe Browsing
Hackers can easily track your activities and get into your system through your browser. It is highly recommended to keep your browser updated to the latest version. Avoid using spammy websites that asks for user details. You can also block ads on your browser and take extra time to actually read privacy policies before giving your consent.

💢Keep Your System Up-to-Date
Keep your system up to date to ensure that you don’t miss out any feature and security fixes. If you find it a hassle to manually apply updates, you can always use tools to automate your software updates. Regularly scan your system or it’s better to keep auto scan on in your system.

💥Use Anti-Virus
A strong anti-virus program will keep your device free from all types of malware, such as spyware, viruses, Trojans, etc. You can also antivirus anti-virus that will keep you updated if it found something wrong in your system. Using anti-virus is essential as it helps you to get real time updates.

💢Adjust Your Settings on Social Media
Take advantage of the options that are available to you. Big Internet companies such as Facebook and Google usually give you options to opt out of some, if not all, of their personalization and tracking.

Social Media Make People Feel Lonely

👀Why social media make people lonely?
💘We are plagued by a loneliness epidemic. In the last 55 years, regardless of geographic location, gender, race, or ethnicity, rates of loneliness have doubled in the United States. This increase has been associated with several growing concerns related to mental and physical well-being.

💘In a survey exploring social media patterns, it was found that individuals who spent more time on social media every day felt lonelier than those who spent less time engaged in social media. Additionally, those who spent more time on social media in a given week felt more isolated than those who checked their social media less. An increase in social media use has been associated with increased distractibility and sleep disturbances. Researchers at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam had highlighted that we experience a pleasure response to social media sites such as Facebook. Similarly, Erik Peper, Associate Professor of Health Education at San Francisco State University, emphasizes that smartphone use can form neurological connections similar to connections that are seen in individuals with an opioid addiction. Further, in a study of 135 individuals, Peper and his colleagues found that people who utilize their phones more often were more likely to report feeling anxious, depressed, isolated, and lonely.

👀Is there a relationship between social media and loneliness?
💘In order to better understand how social media may be connected to loneliness, we must first recognize that it is not a simple equation. Just as there are a variety of reasons in which one may use social media, there are different ways in which social media could be fostering loneliness. The ease of accessibility may be causing us to connect more in the digital realm, but disconnect from the world around us. Researchers at the University of British Columbia found that even seemingly mild distractions from a buzzing phone could cause individuals to experience a decrease of present enjoyment. For example, if you are at a social gathering and impulsively grab your phone as you feel the notification vibration, even if you do not continue to open the app, this brief moment could cause a feeling of disconnection with others present at the gathering.

💘The Center for Humane Technology highlights that we may experience a fear of missing out that causes us to compulsively check for updates. The persistent need to log-in can inhibit users’ ability to relax and replenish. Lack of adequate rest could cause individuals to become susceptible to mental health risks. Individuals may become glued to their devices to avoid feeling unaware of current events and feel disconnected from others. It is also possible to encounter unwanted updates that prompt feelings of isolation. For example, if someone finds a picture of their loved ones gathered for an event to which he or she did not receive an invitation, seeing this update could trigger the individual to feel excluded.

👀So, is it all negative?

💘There are certainly benefits to social media. For one, it does succeed in promoting the ease and accessibility of shared information. Social networking has been shown to assist introverted adolescents in developing socialization skills. Also, in a study of over 30,000 youth across the globe, it was found that students who utilize social media to communicate about school tend to earn higher grades. Social media allows for increased availability of resources for individuals who otherwise may not have had access. Unlike other studies discussed earlier, according to the Cigna Loneliness Index, social media use was not found to be a predictor of loneliness. Additionally, Researchers at the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas found that social media use has no significant negative effect on social interactions or social well-being. Therefore, it may be important to consider quality versus quantity. Social media may be less about how often it is utilized, and more about the ways in which it is used.

Vertical Integration

🐬What Is Vertical Integration?
🐾Vertical integration is a strategy whereby a company owns or controls its suppliers, distributors, or retail locations to control its value or supply chain. Vertical integration benefits companies by allowing them to control the process, reduce costs, and improve efficiencies. However, vertical integration has its disadvantages, including the significant amounts of capital investment required.

🐾Netflix is a prime example of vertical integration whereby the company started as a DVD rental company supplying film and TV content. The company's executive management realized they could generate more revenue by shifting to original content creation. Today, Netflix uses its distribution model to promote their original content alongside films from major studios.

🐬Understanding Vertical Integration
🐾Vertical integration occurs when a company assumes control over several of the production steps involved in the creation of its product or service in a particular market. Typically, a company's supply chain or sales process begins with the purchase of raw materials from a supplier and ends with selling the final product to the customer. Companies can integrate by purchasing their suppliers to reduce the costs of manufacturing. Companies can also invest in the retail or sales end of the process by opening physical locations as well as service centers for the after-sales process. Controlling the distribution process is another common vertical integration strategy, meaning companies control the warehousing and delivery of their products.

🐬Types of Vertical Integration
🐾Two of the most common methods of vertical integration include backward and forward integration.
🐝Backward Integration & Forward Integration
Backward integration is when a company expands backward on the production path into manufacturing, meaning a retailer buys the manufacturer of their product. An example of backward integration might be Amazon.com (AMZN), which expanded from an online retailer that sold books to becoming a book publisher. Amazon also owns warehouses and parts of its distribution channel.
Forward integration is a strategy that companies use to expand by purchasing and controlling the direct distribution or supply of a company’s products. A clothing manufacturer that opens its own retail locations to sell its product is an example of forward integration. Forward integration helps companies cut out the middleman by removing distributors that would typically be paid to sell a company’s products reducing their overall profitability.

🐬Advantages：
- Decrease transportation costs and reduce delivery turnaround times.
- Reducing supply disruptions from suppliers that might fall into financial hardship.
- Increase competitiveness by getting products to consumers directly and quickly.
- Lower costs through economies of scale, which is lowering the per-unit cost by buying large quantities of raw materials or streamlining the manufacturing process.
- Improve sales and profitability by creating and selling its own brand.

🐬Disadvantages:
- Companies might get too big and mismanage the overall process.
- Outsourcing to suppliers and vendors might be more efficient if their expertise is superior.
- Costs of vertical integration such as purchasing a supplier can be quite significant.
- Increased amounts of debt if borrowing is needed for capital expenditures.

Diffusion of Innovation in Marketing

🌴First, what is Diffusion of Innovation?

🌼Have you ever seen an ice cube melt in hot water? You most likely would have noticed that it initially melts at a relatively slow pace. Its cold water slowly diffuses out into the cup of hot water. However, with time, the ice cube melts faster and faster and all of its cold water diffuses out into the cup.

🌼This is kind of like diffusion of innovation. Diffusion of innovation refers to the spread of products, services, ideas, and practices in a relatively slow initial manner before the innovation starts to spread quickly into the rest of the population.

🌴Examples of Diffusion of Innovation

🌼Remember when Bitcoin was worth next to nothing? You probably do not because you likely paid attention to its relatively mass adoption when its price hit $20,000 per coin before crashing. This is normal. Very few people risk their time and money trying an untested product, service, idea, or practice.

🌼The same thing tends to happen with almost every product you can think of, from the first automobiles to the first computers and cell phones. Either the cost or the risk involved proves too much.

🌼As such, many products and practices are adopted in a bell-curve manner. At first adoption is slow, as innovators and early adopters are the only ones risking it. Then the early majority and later majority make up the bulk of the adoption at a later time before the laggards come in. A good example of this is the Beanie Babies craze in the 1990s.

🌼Other products, however, are adopted in a cumulative manner. That is to say, a saturation point is reached on an S-shaped curve where there is little room for further adoption into a market. A really great example of this is refrigerators. Over time, it has come to pass that most households have one and there's isn't much room to force people to buy multiple refrigerators either.

🌴The Spread of Innovation

As introduction's definition implied, the speed at which innovation diffuses is not always the same. There are numerous factors that influence the spread of innovation. These factors include:

Movie Abominable

POSITIVE ELEMENTS：

⛄ Jin, a social media-focused friend, join Yi, and his basketball-loving little cousin, Peng, and the young Yeti’s three teenagers set out to do the right thing. They name him Everest — after the mountain, they have to find a way to reach somehow— and do all they can to rescue the animal. Along the way, Yi discovers that the route they follow across China is almost precisely the direction that her father wanted to take. And the journey helps Yi not only communicate with her father’s memory but also find a sense of peace by sharing with her peers, her pain, and loss. In the final analysis, the movie implicitly emphasizes the importance of friends and family in finding a way through profound personal loss and grief. We see Yi’s mother and grandmother Nai Nai, reaching out to Yi repeatedly and trying to express their love to the wounded and isolated teenager. And they both rejoice after her adventure when Yi returns home with open arms. After experiencing beautiful and magical things, one primarily selfish character experiences a softening of the heart.

SPIRITUAL CONTENT:

⛄ It turns out that the Yeti, Everest, possesses magical abilities that are mystically connected to nature’s links. He can do incredible acts of what we might call natural magic by humming low bass notes such as growing giant blueberries. And transforming a field of flowers into an ocean-like rolling wave. At one point, too, that magical ability is given to Yi. The girl was lying to her mother early on, claiming she had sold the violin of her uncle.

⛄ Nevertheless, we note that the instrument is hidden away, and Yi reserves to play it as an almost religious kind of communion between her deceased father and herself. Later, with his own magical Yeti hair, that violin is accidentally broken and mended by Everest. Yi then plays the violin on a giant Buddha statue on the mountainside, which her father always wanted to see. Thanks to strings made of Yeti fur, the beautiful music and the resulting mysteriously sprouting flowers symbolically reflect Yi’s suffering, sorrow, and spiritual healing in away. Yi plays the violin a few more times in moments of great need and risk for its strong magical abilities. Jin is primarily fascinated with technology, his smartphone, and social media, and he rejects the idea of any mystical or religious aspects in the universe at first.

⛄ Thus, his perspective changes when he experiences some inexplicable mystical things. “It’s been a lie for my whole life,” he moans in wonder. A snapshot of Yi, her mom, and Nai Nai visiting the giant Buddha statue at a later date are shown during the credits of the film. That being said, the film never explores aspects of Buddhist religion beyond focusing on that beautiful image. Peng looks up at the sky and says he’s been told the stars are the ancestors who died. Yi later looks up to see a twinkling star, maybe a nod to her dad watching her from above. Peng even wishes for a dandelion.