Reexamining my biography

     

Brief Biography

Born and raised in South Florida, I have called North Carolina my home for the last twenty-two years. twenty-five years.  I am a husband and father of two kids and a new grandfather(!), seven five cats (+1 foster kitten for two more weeks - side note: we kept her, Jade.  She was a wonderful cat but she passed away suddenly, tragically.  We've lost several cats along the way:  Kitty, Alley, and Penny too.  L'il Guy and Snarf are new additions), two dogs, and a turtle.  I have a varied and diverse with experience in hotel, restaurant, and retail management, and IT Support.  I'm still doing IT Support.  It will be 3 years in August with this company.  They are good people and treat me well.  My side project, Coffee Bruin Studios, allows me to be a graphic artist and do voice over work.  Artwork and Voiceover work had been put on the back burner, but I'm looking at it again.  We have built Unconventional Ventures and are running comic book conventions now, specifically Wilkes Comic Con.  Due to COVID-19, we have had to postpone this year's event to 2021, which really sucks.  I have appeared comic book conventions in three different states, produced podcasts, and lectured for many years.  

The project that brings me the greatest happiness has been my volunteer work with Samaritan Kitchen of Wilkes, a local food pantry here in Wilkes County, NC.  It is one of the main reasons that I have returned to college after twenty-five years.  After finally getting a good staff and a decent board, I finally decided it was time to take a break from the board.  I left the board at the end of June 2019.  My plans were, initially to return July of this year, but with COVID-19 and my plans for grad school and the grandson, I'm not sure about that right now.

What are my Educational Goals?

I am seeking to finish my Political Science degree (anticipated Spring 2019  Sooooo, life happened.  I ended up having to retake two classes and there was no way I could maintain the pace of two classes a term and work in the IT field.  I think when I wrote this I was still working 4 days a week at Waffle House.  The IT position is 40 hours, 5 days a week, plus 10 for commute, and then after hours and weekend on call).  I then hope to get my Masters in Sociology and Public Policy MBA with a concentration in Public Administration.  It wasn't my first choice.  It wasn't really even my second or third choice, but it was the smart choice.  I'm staying at SNHU, so admission into the program is simple, and with my GPA I may be able to get some scholarships.  The Masters in Public Administration is not a program they offer, but the MBA with a concentration in Public Administration is.  An MBA opens more doors.  I thought about a Masters in Political Science.  But unless I want a career in politics, law, or as a political pundit, it's useless.  Now, I love to talk politics and political theory, so I'm sure I'd enjoy it but I'd never make a dime.

What are my Professional Goals?

As chairman of the board of a non-profit food pantry, I want to take the knowledge gained at SNHU and either by working with a larger agency (Second Harvest Food Bank, Feeding America, etc.) or working with a governmental agency working on policy to help end hunger in Appalachia.  This goal really hasn't changed.  I'd like to get on with an Non-governmental Agency (NGO) and work towards eliminating hunger in Appalachia.  I'd even look at bigger opportunities if they arose.  A job with the state government in Raleigh, or the Federal Government, if I could remain in the area would be great too.

What knowledge and skills do you hope to gain from this experience and how do you think they will help you attain those goals?

This was a whole section on a communications course I took.  It was a lot of fun and I made this massive presentation in Prezi about the history of comic strip art.  If I can find the link I'll add it.

How does the issue of privacy affect your personal and professional identities and your educational and professional goals? Do you prefer them separate? Why or why not?

(Please see the above links for examples of my personal and professional identities online.)

It is foolish to believe that anyone that wanted to hack me wouldn’t check out these accounts, as well as my accounts on Instagram, Snapchat, Google + that's not a thing anymore, Tumblr, Critcker (a movie review website if you were wondering), Periscope dropped that!, DeviantArt, and Reddit.  If they wanted to go “old school” they could find my old Live Journal and MySpace accounts -  I have been around for a long time. 

I do not see how you can maintain any difference in privacy levels between personal and professional identities.  I still don't three years later, but it doesn't mean I post stupid things on social media.  If a potential employer wants to know about you, they are going to check out your LinkedIn page but they are also going to check out your Facebook and Twitter accounts.  Any negative information on these may prevent you from being hired.

With an active presence on so many platforms, how do I maintain privacy?  If I don’t have to use my real name and main email address, I won’t.  On a lot of these accounts I am under an alias.  I am very careful with my phone number and address.  Except for 2-factor authentication (which you should always use), I never give out my phone number.  Additionally, my password is always at least 16 characters long with special characters and upper-case and lower-case letters plus numbers in it.  don't forget password management software and a vpn.  And I am THAT person who can remember the weird passwords but I like not having to.  That closes the front door.  Finally, I limit the real information that I have to list on the site to an absolute minimum.  Social hacking (eg. finding out someone’s kids names, birthdays, mother’s maiden name, etc) is very common and very easy to fall prey to.  Yeah, I wrote this before the whole Cambridge Analytica scandal broke.  I TOLD YOU SO!  

Now, it's now.  Then was then.  (Think the Spaceballs scene, I'm not attaching the picture).    It's the middle of May, 2020.  The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is here.  I'm sure I'll write more in detail about that in a different post.  It sucks.  No one I know has died, but I know people who have had it.  It has affected how I live my life, and how I do my job.

SNHU

     

Brief Biography

Born and raised in South Florida, I have called North Carolina my home for the last twenty-two years.  I am a husband and father of two kids, seven cats (+1 foster kitten for two more weeks), two dogs, and a turtle.  I have a varied and diverse with experience in hotel, restaurant, and retail management, and IT Support.  My side project, Coffee Bruin Studios, allows me to be a graphic artist and do voice over work.  I have appeared comic book conventions in three different states, produced podcasts, and lectured for many years.  

The project that brings me the greatest happiness has been my volunteer work with Samaritan Kitchen of Wilkes, a local food pantry here in Wilkes County, NC.  It is one of the main reasons that I have returned to college after twenty-five years. 

What are my Educational Goals?

I am seeking to finish my Political Science degree (anticipated Spring 2019).  I then hope to get my Masters in Sociology and Public Policy.

What are my Professional Goals?

As chairman of the board of a non-profit food pantry, I want to take the knowledge gained at SNHU and either by working with a larger agency (Second Harvest Food Bank, Feeding America, etc.) or working with a governmental agency working on policy to help end hunger in Appalachia.

What knowledge and skills do you hope to gain from this experience and how do you think they will help you attain those goals?

I see three major take-aways from COM 126. The first is a deeper and richer understanding of our culture and how the Mass Media has shaped it, specifically how the ever-evolving tools of mass communication, from the printing press through Snapchat, have molded and shaped each generation. The second is a challenge is to myself, to shake away preconceived ideas and to interact with other people have different concepts, beliefs, and life experiences.  The third is to reestablish myself as a student.  This is my first college class in twenty-five years.  There are a lot of cobwebs to brush away, a lot of bad habits to break, and Southern New Hampshire University is very different than Florida Atlantic University.

A better understanding of how Mass Communication uses us and how we use it is a critical skill to anyone in a leadership role in an organization.  As chair of food pantry, I can tell you that we have a presence on Facebook, we send out press releases, and we interact with the local radio station.  This class will help me to better craft, focus, and direct our message.  If this was the only thing that the class helped me with, it would be money well spent.  However, if it helps me to expand my horizons and become a better student which in turn eventually helps me to achieve better employment, then I will know that this has been a very successful term.

How does the issue of privacy affect your personal and professional identities and your educational and professional goals? Do you prefer them separate? Why or why not?

(Please see the above links for examples of my personal and professional identities online.)

It is foolish to believe that anyone that wanted to hack me wouldn’t check out these accounts, as well as my accounts on Instagram, Snapchat, Google +, Tumblr, Critcker, Periscope, DeviantArt, and Reddit.  If they wanted to go “old school” they could find my old Live Journal and MySpace accounts -  I have been around for a long time. 

I do not see how you can maintain any difference in privacy levels between personal and professional identities.  If a potential employer wants to know about you, they are going to check out your LinkedIn page but they are also going to check out your Facebook and Twitter accounts.  Any negative information on these may prevent you from being hired.

With an active presence on so many platforms, how do I maintain privacy?  If I don’t have to use my real name and main email address, I won’t.  On a lot of these accounts I am under an alias.  I am very careful with my phone number and address.  Except for 2-factor authentication (which you should always use), I never give out my phone number.  Additionally, my password is always at least 16 characters long with special characters and upper-case and lower-case letters plus numbers in it.  And I am THAT person who can remember the weird passwords.  That closes the front door.  Finally, I limit the real information that I have to list on the site to an absolute minimum.  Social hacking (eg. finding out someone’s kids names, birthdays, mother’s maiden name, etc) is very common and very easy to fall prey to. 

Fake News in the Age of COVID-19

Please excuse me, I am plagiarizing myself:

Where does the media’s responsibility lie?  At what point in the quest for ratings do reporters sacrifice their journalistic integrity for ratings?  

According to the Society of Professional Journalists, journalists are supposed to:

• Seek Truth and Report it
• Minimize Harm
• Act Independently
• Be Accountable and Transparent

In minimizing harm, they are supposed to show compassion for those who may be affected by news coverage and avoid indulging lurid curiosity.  The daily body count, the constant pandering by some in the media to the fears of the "Right" and of the "Left" gives all journalists a bad name.

“Fake News.”  The term is appalling.  It’s an insult to our intelligence, yet many of us not only tolerate it, we have co-opted the term into our own vocabulary.  Here’s the big secret, “Fake News” does not exist.

Media Bias?  Media bias exists.  Media bias is the bias of journalists, editors, producers, and publishers within the mass media in the selection of stories and events for reporting and publication and how they are covered.  It has existed as long as there has been some form of mass media.

Libel and Slander?  Libel and Slander exist.  Libel is a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation.  Slander is a spoken version of libel.

And yes, there have been times that media bias has pushed journalists into the realm of libel and slander.  But if it happened as often as some of our politicians claimed, then we could effectively sack the First amendment.

Fake News?  Fake News does not exist.  Fake News is a term made up to attack the coverage of facts and events that were unflattering because they were neither libelous nor slanderous (although they may have potentially biased).  The problem is, after saying the term enough times, if even once the veracity of a story is questionable, then all of the stories accused of being “Fake News” are also questionable.  It doesn’t matter if later the politician who screamed “Fake News” is later proved to be lying, once even one story is proven to be unreliable – all stories are unreliable.

When reliable news sources and channels are used, and questionable sources are eliminated (OANN, Fox News, Daily Kos, Brietbart, Occupy Democrats), then we can hold our leadership accountable for their statements and accusations of “Fake News.”

Thus, when we have become desensitized by the constant shouting of "Fake News!" by members of the administration and less reputable members of the media, when actual FALSE information is put forward for the sake of power and profit by those same members of the administration and  less reputable members of the media we have no one to complain to.  We have allowed that cabal to use that term with impunity without calling them on the carpet and without exposing their malignant bias.  So now, people believe them when they spout unscientific theories, theories that can and are costing people their lives.

We had a long time to hold them accountable and did nothing.  Hold them accountable in November.