TOW #25 Here's Why Facebook Is Making You Download Its Messenger App by Kia Makarechi

Reading Goal: Read an intelligent piece that is relevant to my daily life.
Writing Goals: Create a clear thesis statement and effectively analyze evidence.

We’ve all been there. You log onto Facebook, go to your messages, and a notification screen appears. “Download messenger. This person, this person, and this many of your friends are already using it.” The constant pressure from Facebook to download messenger can be annoying. Through it’s use of statistical data and quotes from important figures in the Facebook world, this article serves to explain the reasoning behind Facebook’s big move and to predict where they may go in the future.
Facebook is, at its core, a business and therefore it must make money; this article uses statistics to show the economic motive that Facebook has behind all of their moves. “Currently, Facebook (including Instagram) accounts for 17 percent of time spent on all connected iOS and Android devices...” (par. 5)  so it already has a huge presence in the mobile world. As a mobile super power, Facebook has the capability to dominate its market and maximize profits. Adding more apps and gadgets to its mobile presence only adds more outlets of profit for the company, whose profits exceed billions of dollars per quarter year. These statistics simply prove that Facebook has an incredible presence in the technology world, only to be strengthened by the addition of newer apps. Facebook, in making these decisions, must think of what the company is, and how they can proceed. This article uses quotes from important individuals within Facebook to represent the company and explain why mobile apps are the right direction (or at least, the direction that Facebook is going in, no matter what). The article quotes Zuckerberg in paragraph 5, stating, “There is no argument. Facebook is a mobile company.” Since this is true, it makes logical sense that they would continue on a path of mobile development. These statements justify the actions of the company, both present and future. Using quotes allows insight into the mind of Facebook, giving readers (and Facebook users) a reason for these pushy developments. Running a major company comes with massive perks for sure, but also massive responsibility. Facebook must keep its reputation as a leading mobile entertainer while creating new ideas for profit and status. This article, using both statistics and quotes from Facebook leaders, provides rationale and analysis to users. This way, the next time that they are pressured to use a new Facebook app, they understand WHY.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2014/04/why-facebook-is-making-you-download-its-messenger-app.print

TOW #24 From Private Ordeal to National Fight: The Case Of Terri Schiavo By: Clyde Haberman

The moral battle over the issue of continued life support for a loved one is a difficult struggle for all those involved. It puts a strain on everyone and the relationships that they have. This was readily apparent in the case of Terri Schiavo. This article used rhetorical questions and factual evidence to express the horrible situation that Schiavo’s loved ones were in, and how her legacy affected the world.

Through the use of rhetorical questions, the author expresses the emotional roller coaster that Schiavo’s family faced. This topic easily strikes a cord in anyone who has been in a similar situation, but it may be harder to reach those who haven’t. Rhetorical questions such as, “What, if anything, is the enduring legacy of this painful episode?” and “What qualifies as death with dignity?”(Haberman) allow readers to put deeper thought into the topic. Especially in the last question, readers are pushed toward thinking of their own definition of “death by dignity” and how it may conflict with other peoples. They act as thought catalysts for readers. After they won’t be outside bystanders, the readers will be invested in the subject. The rhetorical questions allow the readers to understand the complexity of the situation and understand better the tragic story of Terri Schiavo.

In any legal analysis piece, there are data and facts that support the technical side. The technical information adds to the legal and emotional side of the article, and it therefore encompasses an entire argument. The author states, “Larger questions remain, affecting an estimated 25,000 Americans deemed by doctors to be in a vegetative state” which shows that many people are in a similar situation, just less in the public eye. The author makes his points more reasonable by allowing readers to infer that this is not the only case, and that this wasn’t his main point.

Terri Schiavo’s family and husband were faced with a difficult decision. It took strength and courage from all to face the media backlash that they all were privy to. This article serves to commemorate Terri and too give a nod to her loved ones for staying strong in this difficult time. 

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/us/from-private-ordeal-to-national-fight-the-case-of-terri-schiavo.html?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=OP_FPO_20140421&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1388552400000&bicmet=1420088400000&_&_r=1&referrer=

IRB INTRO WILD BY CHERYL STRAYED

Wow, I can’t believe this is already my last I-R-B intro post. Seems like it was just yesterday that I picked up All The President’s Men. Well, time to move on I guess. I think for this marking period, I am going to try a memoir. I keep hearing about this book, “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed so I finally decided to do it. Also, they’re making a movie of it with Reese Witherspoon, so I felt I had to read it before the movie comes out. Wild is a memoir about Strayed’s journey of more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (and some other places). Hopefully, this book will depict the lessons that she learned in her journey and I can take them and apply them to my life. I hope to gain knowledge on a more spiritual level from this book, as opposed to the more technical information that I got from the other books I read this year. Here goes nothing....