vote – PSafe Blog https://www.psafe.com/en/blog Articles and news about Mobile Security, Android, Apps, Social Media and Technology in general. Thu, 19 Jan 2023 14:49:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/cropped-psafe_blog_purple-shield-32x32.png vote – PSafe Blog https://www.psafe.com/en/blog 32 32 <![CDATA[Social Media Platforms Are Encouraging Users to Vote]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/social-media-platforms-encouraging-users-vote/ Fri, 04 Nov 2016 14:14:42 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=5472 Election seasons in America are rather strange, aren’t they? People stop watching football, people become stressed, and we pray for meteors to slam into the earth to relieve us of the collective headache the political process seems to create.

Unfortunately for the nihilists, there’s very little chance of any meteor hitting the United States between now and election day, which means we must fulfill our civic duty as citizens and cast our votes at the ballot box, even if the choices for our next President are received with little enthusiasm or positivity this time around.

Read More: Is Facebook Listening to Your Mic to Create Targeted Ads?

Nevertheless, regardless of your political beliefs, your choice in candidate, and your opinions on emails, walls, China, and constitutional crises, there is one subject I’m certain we all can agree on: social media has been putting in work to get us out to the polls on November 8th.

In the days leading up to Election Day, Facebook has issued a popup on people’s accounts asking to favorite Presidential, Senatorial, and Congressional candidates based on where they live. While Facebook has a track record for political activism for the last few election cycles dating back to 2008, this year sees a host of other social platforms, both old and new, getting involved in the process.

Twitter, a preferred platform for political commentators, activists, and the Presidential candidates themselves throughout this election season, has been a hotbed for encouraging political activity for some time now. This is both in the form of automated programs participating in primaries and debates, and through the creators of the platform itself, who have promoted the hashtag #Election2016 in the hopes of increasing voter turnout.

Similarly, social platforms hosting more visually focused content, such as Snapchat and Instagram, have been important in getting out the vote. Hashtags on Instagram and celebrity endorsements of candidates and political memes have made their rounds across user accounts, using a mixture of humor, outrage, and fear to get people to visit the polls. Others have even documented themselves participating in the democratic process — such as Justin Timberlake — though we don’t condone doing the same, since some states have laws against this.

Snapchat, on the other hand, has taken a different approach to raising voter awareness. Featured Stories on Snapchat by companies like Buzzfeed have regularly discussed the campaigns of both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, colleges have had campus Stories focusing around the three Presidential debates, and Filters have been created encouraging users to vote. It’s even likely you’ve seen Snaps by your friends of the Presidential candidates with the puppy filter on.

No matter the platform, it is evident that most, if not all, major social media companies have taken steps to actively influence voter turnout this election. So, as an American citizen, be sure to do your part come November 8th if you haven’t already, and make your voice matter.

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<![CDATA[The Role of Tech Companies in Presidential Debates]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/role-tech-companies-presidential-debates/ Tue, 18 Oct 2016 12:16:07 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=4803 We already can’t live without our social media apps, but we bet you didn’t know how important social media is becoming in the presidential race of 2016.

Presidential debates are always heated. Candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have had several televised pre-debates and one official debate already, and will have several more before the November election. Viewers are watching these debates in record numbers. In one of the debate events hosted by Matt Lauer — an event called the “Commander in Chief Forum” — more than fifteen million viewers tuned in.

Read More: 5 Social Media Apps We Can’t Live Without

For those viewers who don’t tune in on the night of the event, social media channels play a big role in keeping voters informed. Video footage of the candidates — usually shortened into quick videos or shared as photo memes — is particularly important this year. On social media, people are sharing clips from the debates in greater and greater numbers.

Social media is shaping the debates, as well. As users share their thoughts and questions for presidential candidates on Facebook, Snapchat, and Google, these channels are sharing these ideas and concerns with the debates’ moderators.

For example, during the first debate on September 26, 2016, users shared their thoughts with NBC News via Facebook and Google. The moderator, Lester Holt, then took into consideration trending search topics, likes, and re-posts to figure out which issues were most important to voters in the election. Facebook Live also plays a role in the debates. If you sign into Facebook during the presidential elections, you’ll be able to watch real-time video and tune into an interactive screen that displays ongoing conversations and trending topics in the debate.

Snapchat is also getting into the action by covering each debate as a “live story.” These live stories let users see different perspectives from students, volunteers, and others in a narrative format. The next two debates are on Sunday, October 9, and Wednesday, October 19. How will you use social media to interact with the candidates?

Want to make sure your voice is heard on social media? Download PSafe Total. PSafe’s Memory Booster optimizes your data and gives you advice on how to speed up your device altogether. With PSafe, you can make sure you never miss a minute of the presidential debates.

 

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<![CDATA[How Social Media Picks the New President]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/social-media-picks-new-president/ Wed, 05 Oct 2016 22:48:00 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=4439 Political knowledge is more accessible than it has ever been. Prior to the digital media age, the only people who had access to political information were the upper class people who had money for newspapers and other news outlets.

However, the progression of technology has allowed everyone to gain equal access to information, from technology to pop culture to politics.

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It seems as if every news feed is saturated with biased political information posted from all ideologies. With the proliferation of news media amongst millennials and older generations alike, this political information has become a primary news source for people as they decide who they want to cast their vote for in November.

Is this a bad thing? Well, you can decide for yourself.

Nearly everyone has access to holistic political information, which means that people are generally more educated. Even if they don’t read the news articles, they see the titles and the click baits, and they can decipher the general message that the article is going to send. This results in them going to the voting booth better informed, and they are not voting off of stipulation.

Plus, these social media platforms are facilitating discussion. Have you ever scrolled through your newsfeed without seeing two random kids from high school beefing about Trump vs. Hillary? Me neither. The conversation catalyzed by social media allows people to better understand each other’s values. This can also help inform the populace and educate them about their voting decision.

There are also a few negative byproducts associated with social media selecting our president. First of all, as stated earlier, these articles are incredibly biased. Several of these articles include skewed information that is utilized to promote a particular partisan agenda. This can mislead people to believe false information, and it can muddle their honest decision for whom they pick for their votes.

So, is it okay if social media selects a president? Whichever way you feel about it, it’s an inevitability. News technology is constantly innovating, reaching out to new populaces. Will this lead to a more informed or more ignorant electorate? Find out in November.

Make sure you don’t miss a moment of this election season. Download PowerPRO by Psafe to keep your device running as long as possible.

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