New (free!) how-to ebook on advocacy

My friend's company just put this out. Has useful tips and some thoughts about e-advocacy. (Full disclosure: I helped edit it.)
http://thecampaignworkshop.com/ebook/the-complete-guide-to-advocacy/

Inciting violence online

This is about violence in Egypt, but it's something I'm planning to discuss in my presentation tomorrow in terms of US politics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/world/american-agitator-helps-fuel-attacks-in-egypt.html?_r=0

Mobilisation Lab

I subscribe to the MobLab's emails, and they have a pretty neat website that's worth checking out with some good resources. It's a Greenpeace initiative, but it encompasses a wide range of organizations and issue areas. Enjoy!

http://www.mobilisationlab.org

Event Rapporteur: Media That Matters 2015 at American University

   Media that Matters is an annual conference hosted by the Center for Media and Social Impact at American University.

Article about online activism

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/business/media/hashtag-activism-and-its-limits.html?pagewanted=all

Kony responds (satire)

Came across this while doing some other research.

http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/kony-snl-parody-horatio-sanz-polipop/

I saw this on the SIS listserv and thought some people might be interested:

WEBINAR - From Selma to St. Louis: Civil Resistance in Ferguson and Beyond

Live ICNC Webinar
February 26, 2015 | 12:00pm - 1:15pm EST

Police brutality and militarization have reached crisis proportions for people of color in the United States. Youth, students, clergy, educators, lawyers, civil rights leaders, and hundreds of community grassroots coalitions and national organizations have come together to nonviolently resist repressive violence and a lack of accountability through mass organizing, rallies, teach-ins, protests, speakouts, and marches. Consciousness and mobilization are spreading and scaling-up, particularly on college campuses. The narrative and discourse about policing and laws are changing in cities and towns across the nation. What is the vision of this peaceful civil resistance movement? What strategies, goals and methods are being tried in the Ferguson-St. Louis area of Missouri? How can the movement ensure nonviolent discipline among its participants? What is this movement seeking as redress against police repression and overreach? What is the movement's real adversary? How must the movement define its interactions with the police? What cutting-edge, long-term solutions will keep our communities safe and united? This webinar will aim to address these questions in addition to discussing community dialogues and truth telling hearings (see http://www.thetruthtellingproject.org/) that have been organized in St. Louis, Missouri for March 13-15th, 2015, following a historic 50th Anniversary march on the bridge in Selma Alabama.

Speakers

-Pastor Cori Bush, Kingdom Embassy International
-Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Civil Rights Activist and Distinguished Senior Scholar-in-Residence at Emory University
-Dr. David Ragland, Visiting Professor at Bucknell University
-Barbara J. Wien, Professorial Lecturer at American University

http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/forum/topic/show?id=780588%3ATopic%3A999879#.VOzYtkKsmyN 

Anita Sarkeesian: Feminist YouTuber and Target of #GamerGate Terrorists

Hi all! Based on the Washington Post reading we are discussing in class today, Feminist writers are so besieged by online abuse that some have begun to retire, I thought I would share a blog post I wrote about the GamerGate issue and a person who has been particularly harassed for daring to be a feminist in the gamer world, Anita Sarkeesian. Sarkeesian runs a nonprofit and YouTube channel called Feminist Frequency where she academically analyzes video games through a feminist lens.

Here is a link to my post if you're interested: https://julianggomez.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/anita-sarkeesian-feminist-youtuber-and-target-of-gamergate-terrorists/

A few studies on Viral Media

Hey everyone, I'm going to be presenting later today in class on viral media. There are two studies I'm going to be talking about on a basic level, that I found to be incredibly interesting and are worth reading through fully.

The first study is titled, "What’s in a name? Understanding the Interplay between Titles, Content, and Communities in Social Media." It provides a theory to explain why posts go viral on Reddit. It specifically discusses why content, when posted multiple times, gets more views on certain iterations than others. This study focuses on the way viral media is posted more than its content.

http://i.stanford.edu/~julian/pdfs/icwsm13.pdf

The second study is titled "What Makes Online Content Viral?" It is a more general study about content going viral, but focuses on the most emailed links from the front page of the New York Times' website. This study focuses on the content of viral media more than how it gets online.

http://jonahberger.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ViralityB.pdf

Net Neutrality and the Digital Divide

No more overtaking: The Federal Communications Commission outlines its proposals to regulate the internet: http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21642129-federal-communications-commission-outlines-its-proposals-regulate-internet-no-more?zid=291&ah=906e69ad01d2ee51960100b7fa502595

How do you think net neutrality could impact the digital divide?

Interesting Article on the "Internet of Things"

The Internet of Sheep: WiFi-connected flock to eat grass and transmit data: http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/tech/mci-internet-of-sheep/index.html

"While it has been widely reported that flocks of sheep in the project could transmit WiFi and improve internet coverage in rural areas, Professor Blair said this is not the aim of the research."

""We have 3,500 sheep so whether a digital collar for all of them would be feasible is another matter but if someone said to me 10 years ago I would be tweeting to 7,000 followers from the top of a mountain or putting videos onto YouTube, I would never have believed you."

I came across this article and found it fascinating. Global grassroots advocacy is constantly changing, and technology is globalizing our world through all types of different channels

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/africa/africa-mobile-internet/index.html

Event Rapporteur: Harnessing Social Media to Combat Corruption in Sierra Leone

N'yella Rogers, a human rights lawyer as well as a Fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy, spoke on February 18th at the Kay Spiritual Life Center as part of the Human Rights Defender Series. The event was titled "Harnessing Social Media to Combat Corruption in Sierra Leone." However, while the event did not focus as much on the social media aspect of her work to bring change and reform to her native country, Rogers was able to provide the event attendees a unique perspective of the continuing fight to help fight the difficulties that women have to endure in Sierra Leone.

Rogers says that "human rights is a personal journey," and she certainly described it as such by providing the audience. She was born to a woman much younger than her husband, and a father that had a number of other wives (she says this is pretty common in Sierra Leone). As she began a career working for human rights, she saw firsthand the broken legal system that governs her country and thus began to reviews the cases of women wrongfully accused. She described that there were a great number of cases of rape and forced pregnancy in prison. Many women are wrongfully accused of crimes because of the dual legal system present in the country where there is civil law, which is more common in the urban areas of Sierra Leone, as well as customary law which will see women more as property of their husbands, which is more common in the rural areas. Women are seen as property and thus cannot inherit property and when their husband dies, the widowed wife often has to remarry within the family of her husband or risk everything. It is also common for families to accept bribes to ignore a crime of rape, for example, and can even force consent to marriage. Also, a common and valid legal defense in the case of rape is that if the perpetrator believes that he is in a legitimate relationship with his victim,

She discussed how even after important legislation has been passed, such as the Child Rights Act of 2007 and the Sexual Violence Act, there is still a long way to go in order to achieve the ultimate goal of securing equality for woman in Sierra Leone.

Despite the title of the event, Rogers did not mention utilizing social media in order to achieve her and her organization's goals at all during her presentation, only addressing it during the Q&A period in response to a question. She described the process as still being in the embryonic stage and it is not quite ready to be launched but she did appear to be optimistic to utilize social media in order to reach a different audience. While she described that the youth in Sierra Leone do have inconsistent access to high-speed internet, she did say that around 90 percent of youths do have mobile phones, giving her and her project access to a wider audience. The hope that would be by appealing directly to the youth of the country, it will pave the way for some substantial change in the country down the road.

Event rapporteur: Social media in Sierra Leone

Event summary and description

On February 18, 2015 the Key Spiritual Life Human Rights Defender series hosted N’yelai Rogers, a fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Her talk was entitled Harnessing Social Media to Combat Corruption in Sierra Leone. However, her presentation focused little on the use of social media and more on the legal atmosphere in Sierra Leone in relation to the struggles that women face, as well as the disproportional impacts of the Ebola virus on women.

Rogers shared personal accounts of the lives of women in Sierra Leone as a woman who was raised in a polygamous household and her work with Advocaid, a human rights group that defends wrongly convicted, incarcerated women on death row in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Through these experiences she noted the prevalence of violence and sexual abuse against women and the shame and stigma associated with speaking out. She explained that even though there are now laws in place to address these growing concerns, implementing them are still a challenge. Additionally, Rogers described how the Ebola epidemic is disproportionately impacting women in Sierra Leone through their roles as caregivers and nurses.

The social media component did not come out until the Q&A. When asked about how social media plays into these discussions she shared that this is her current research at NED, however the research is in the very early stage. The research aims to look at how utilizing social media can help overcome barriers that citizens face when addressing corruption. Globally, she hopes that using social media may be able to engage a wider audience to bring light to the ways that a weak and corrupt legal system impact women and children in Sierra Leone. Despite a lack of high speed internet, she estimates that 90% of youth in Sierra Leone have mobile phones, and the number of people on social media is increasing. The Ebola epidemic is an example of the heightened use of social media in Sierra Leone. During the peak weeks of the epidemic, Rogers received WhatsApp messages daily regarding Ebola updates in the country. Even in rural areas, the use of WhatsApp has been significant for disseminating information about Ebola, such as sharing which areas to avoid. However, one danger with this quick sharing mechanism is that the information is not always correct or reviewed. For example, a widely shared WhatsApp message advised people to bath in salt water as a means of immunity to the virus. Another added complexity to communication and civil society in Sierra Leone is a libel law that carries a sentence of seven years in jail if found guilty. Rogers notes that this has deterred some social activism.

Connections to class and critique

            From these examples of the use of social media during the height of the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, we see that important information can spread quickly through informal networks. This use of social media is strengthening both regional and global networks by connecting more people. This is especially useful for getting information to rural areas. Looking at using WhatsApp and other social media among diverse audiences for disseminating Ebola information could be viewed as a polycentric network in that there is not a clear person or entity in charge. From Rogers’ example, it is also evident that there are dangers with using social media. Spreading false information could be more dangerous than not sharing information at all. This idea of rapidly disseminated false information is one that we have not discussed much in class.

While the presentation mostly touched on the potential benefits of using social media in Sierra Leone, I was curious what others might think. This recent opinion piece from a Sierra Leonean news outlet highlights not only the spread of misinformation in the way of hoaxes, but also how WhatsApp perhaps can fuel more corruptions, slander, and cultural tensions and violence (Jalloh, 2015). I acknowledge that this article is one-sided, however it does serve as a reminder of other challenges that may increase with social media use.   

It was disappointing that the heart of the presentation not did focus on the use of social media in Sierra Leone, and the talk would have benefitted from a stronger explanation and discussion of its role. A more robust analysis that included examining other social media platforms would have been interesting to understand which ones might be more viable and for which segments of the population. Additionally, as Rogers mentioned, not all information spread via social media is correct. Her opinion on how to control the spread of misinformation would have been valuable. Moreover, Rogers contends that mobile technology and social media use is rising, especially among youth and rural areas. I would have liked to hear more about those who do not have access to these technologies or choose not to participate. Additionally, insight on how social media is used to increase global awareness and raise funds for Ebola relief would have been a nice complement to how it is being used on the ground. Finally, a projection on the diffusion of mobile technology and social media platforms in Sierra Leone would be interesting to have a better idea on the future outlook of using these new technologies.

Works cited:

Jalloh, A.R. (2015, January 23). Evil use of WhatsApp in Sierra Leone. The Patriotic

Vanguard. Retrieved from http://www.thepatrioticvanguard.com/evil-use-of-whatsapp-in-sierra-leone 

New FAA Regulations

The Verge has an interesting breakdown of the new Federal Aviation Agency's drone regulations.

It appears that commercial drones will now be legal as long as the drone remains within the pilot's line of vision. Amazon has already declared it will challenge the ruling for Prime Air.

Event

The Next Steps conference is on campus Feb. 28, sponsored by the College Democrats. 

ISIS Twitter Article

The article I mentioned in class about Twitter, women, and ISIS:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/inside-the-online-world-of-the-women-of-isis#.fjDyLvn85

I know it's Buzzfeed but it's a really interesting read (and not a list).

Effects from Edward Snowden's government surveillance is still causing strained relations between the government and Silicon Valley. This is dangerous for our national security and relations between the government and businesses.

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/obama-acknowledges-strained-relations-silicon-valley-n306171

"Google boss warns of 'forgotten century' with email and photos at risk"

Future concerns for historians on preserving digital data as technology advances, including the legal implications of obtaining such data...or is this another ploy for Google to ensure access to our information in the future?

“'When you think about the quantity of documentation from our daily lives that is captured in digital form, like our interactions by email, people’s tweets, and all of the world wide web, it’s clear that we stand to lose an awful lot of our history...We don’t want our digital lives to fade away. If we want to preserve them, we need to make sure that the digital objects we create today can still be rendered far into the future'”

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/13/google-boss-warns-forgotten-century-email-photos-vint-cerf

Net Neutrality and the Digital Divide

Interesting article this week regarding net neutrality legislation the FCC, the White House, and many non-profit organizations are advocating for. The editorial suggests it could be the key to decreasing (or at least halting) the digital divide in the United States. 

http://www.pressherald.com/2015/02/11/our-view-regulating-internet-could-ease-digital-divide/

However, others would argue that net neutrality regulation will only exacerbate the digital divide, by harming innovation and hitting consumer's pocketbook with increased taxation.
From the Washington Times article: "A Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission Tuesday blasted President Obama’s plan to regulate the Internet, saying it will lead to “utility-style regulation,” new taxes and less consumer choice."
http://www.wsj.com/articles/andy-kessler-forget-net-neut-focus-on-fiber-1423785125

What do you think?

New Cyberterrorism Agency

Long overdue or just more bureaucracy?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/white-house-to-create-national-center-to-counter-cyberspace-intrusions/2015/02/09/a312201e-afd0-11e4-827f-93f454140e2b_story.html

Event Rapporteur – ISIS’ Influence in Social Media

Summary

On February 4, Daniel Cohen from the Institute of National Security Studies spoke about the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and their use of social media at the Heritage Foundation.[1] The lecture’s timing was sadly prescient. A day earlier, ISIS released the video of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh.

The thrust was that ISIS poses a unique threat. They are not the first terrorists to engage online, but they do it better. Their understanding of social media is highly sophisticated and they know how to leverage it for earned media. Audiences are carefully segmented. Videos and other materials are offered in multiple languages.

About two-thirds of the talk focused on how they recruit westerners. ISIS draws them in with a message that they are “just like us.” The imagery invites you to be part of their community. Slick videos resemble travelogues. ISIS followers are shown doing ordinary activities, like snacking on Nutella and bananas. Once hooked, ISIS indoctrinates the recruits and teaches them how to evade online surveillance.  The goal is to convince the recruit to take up arms in Iraq or Syria or to perpetrate a “lone wolf” attack, like the shooting at the Canadian Parliament.

Relationship to Class

Cohen outlined a strategic communication plan. ISIS has clear objectives, defined audiences with a focus on persuadables, a simple message that resonates with the audiences, and a range of digital media outlets. ISIS even thinks creatively. A matchmaking website aimed at young women was in the news recently.

The talk also raises the question of what compels people to move from initial contact, to online engagement, and finally offline action. Understanding the catalyst for ISIS’ success could help develop countermeasures.

In addition, Cohen believes cyberterrorism is ISIS’ next front. Part of that is how ISIS uses digital media to promulgate propaganda and psychological warfare. The al-Kasasbeh video is a case in point for both. Odds are it will radicalize a few of the millions that saw it. Moreover, ISIS’ the intent was to weaken Jordan’s resolve and force them from the coalition. There is also a debate to be had over whether it was appropriate for media to show the video.

Privacy and the First Amendment also come into play. Practical and legal limitations exist in tracking potential terrorists.  As Cohen observed, “democracy can be inconvenient.” Having child pornography on your computer is illegal, but information on how to commit mass murder is not.

Critique

The presentation was compelling and the Q&A thoughtful. My one criticism is that Cohen offered no solutions. When asked how to get to counter their reach, he said the most effective messenger would be a disillusioned former recruit, but that none have come forward. Cohen did not mention anything about measures law enforcement [2]  and intelligence agencies are taking. An assessment and call to action would have made for a powerful conclusion.

Meanwhile, Anonymous announced this week that it targeted ISIS-controlled social media accounts[3] and USA Today ran a feature on a Minneapolis man with a cartoon series aimed at rebutting ISIS’ message.[4] Perhaps the solution to defeating ISIS’ online grassroots campaign is through a grassroots response as opposed to government-directed activity.

---

[1] Cohen, D. (2015, February 4) ISIS’ Influence in Social Media. The Heritage Foundation. Washington, DC.

[2] Koran, L. (2015, February 3) US winning fight against ISIS recruiting, official says. CNN.com. Retrieved February 10, 2015.  

[3] Osborne, C. (2015, February 9) Anonymous targets ISIS social media recruitment drives in #OpISIS campaign. Zdnet.com. Zero Day. Retrieved February 10, 2015.  

[4] Madhani, A. (2015, February 3) Average Mohamed tries to thwart Islamic State. USA Today. Retrieved February 10, 2015.  

Sharing stories of sexism on social media is 21st-century activism

"A new study shows that tweeting about sexism can improve wellbeing. So can we finally stop criticising ‘clicktivism’ and ‘keyboard warriors’, and recognise the value of online feminism?...What happens online doesn’t stay online. Its impact can be far wider...Of course, social media isn’t perfect – perhaps no single form of activism is. For a start, it excludes those without access to the internet or electronic devices, which is a major problem, so it needs to be used in conjunction with other efforts. In addition, social media users posting on topics such as sexism may face vitriolic abuse from trolls. But its capacity to spread an idea to millions of people around the world is undeniable and unique."


http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2015/feb/06/sharing-stories-of-sexism-on-social-media-is-21st-century-activism

Why Google Glass Broke (NYT story)

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/style/why-google-glass-broke.html?WT.mc_id=D-NYT-MKTG-MOD-42950-02-06-L1&WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_c=

Mass surveillance

"British politicians keep trying to sneak the Snoopers’ Charter into law – even when it is obvious that the last thing you need when looking for a neeedle in a haystack is more hay"

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/03/no-ministers-more-surveillance-will-not-make-us-safer

#yesallwomen

#yesallwomen

http://time.com/114043/yesallwomen-hashtag-santa-barbara-shooting/

#yesallwomen was a media campaign on twitter that occurred after Elliot Roger's manifesto was released. Rogers killed six people around the University of California Santa Barbara campus in May of 2014.  Roger's states in a youtube video that his motivation for killing was due to the rejection from women in the past, stating “I don’t know why you girls aren’t attracted to me, but I will punish you all for it." This trending campaign was trending for several days and was centered around our societies way of teaching men to feel entitled to women at their expense. 

Post from Franny

Data Mining / Privacy - No one is anonymous

New report from MIT on data privacy.
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/02/02/anonymous-data-study

Hackers & Syrian Civil War

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/02/world/middleeast/hackers-use-old-web-lure-to-aid-assad.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Diffusion of Innovations - E-Cigarettes

For what it's worth - response paper I did last year for Communications Theory class on diffusion of innovation of e-cigs.

Electronic cigarettes[1] (e-cigarettes) are an innovation that has resulted in rapid diffusion.[2] Many smokers think the products “are less harmful than regular cigarettes,”[3] while the lack of secondhand smoke and odors purportedly makes users compatible with non-smokers.[4] E-cigarettes are easy to use[5] and widely available online and in stores. Free samples[6] and coupons[7] encourage people to try them. E-cigarettes are increasingly observed, particularly among celebrities[8] and in news reports about the health and policy debates.[9]^,[10]

Communication channels include mass media and direct engagement. Print ads run in widely circulated magazines and a television commercial aired during this year’s Super Bowl.[11] Direct engagement consists of specialty shops[12], event sponsorships,[13] infomercials,[14] and even designated spots in amusement parks.[15]

Companies also have a strong presence online and in social media.

As to time, modern e-cigarettes arrived in the U.S. in 2007.[16] By 2010, online queries outpaced those for other tobacco products.[17] Also that year, a federal court ruling made it easier to manufacture, market, and sell the product.[18] In 2011, 58% of surveyed adults were aware of e-cigarettes, up nearly 45% from 2010. Use among current smokers more than doubled.[19] Among students in grades 6-12 usage doubled from 2011 to 2012,[20] although this figure may be undercounted.[21] Sales figures and projections indicate adoption has not yet peaked,[22] although unfavorable government action[23]^,[24] and additional studies linking e-cigarettes to health problems[25]^,[26] could slow or stop the ascension.

 E-cigarette diffusion flows across social systems. To smokers, they are held out as cessation tools[27] and alternatives where smoking is prohibited.[28] Despite their denials, children are a target given the industry’s emulation of advertising and marketing practices used by cigarette makers. [29]^{,[30],[31], [32]} Opinion leaders include celebrities and some health experts.[33]^,[34]  Industry executives act as change agents promoting the products and fighting government regulation. To achieve these goals, they have fostered the creation and growth of a new social system[35]^,[36] of e-cigarette users known as “vapers”[37] after the vapor e-cigarettes emit. (Vape is the verb.)

            For the industry, the status quo of booming sales and minimal regulation is desired. Conclusive proof that vaping acts as a gateway to youth smoking,[38] prompts former smokers to relapse, or causes illness, is not. Direct consequences are seen in the rapid growth in e-cigarette sales. Finally, government regulation, particularly at the federal level, is anticipated. An unanticipated consequence could be that e-cigarettes prove to be effective cessation tools which could shift the industry into the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) more established medical device regulatory framework as opposed to the blank slate they enjoy now under FDA’s tobacco authority. 

---

[1] “What Are E-Cigarettes (Electronic Cigarettes)?” Medical News Today. Webpage. Updated September 10, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2014. 

[2] They resemble traditional cigarettes making them a reinvention as well.

[3] Legacy. “Electronic Cigarettes (E-Cigarettes).” Fact Sheet. Revised June 2103. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

[4] Blu Cigs. “Why All Non-Smokers Like the E-Cig.” Blu Cigs Blog. http://blog.blucigs.com/why-almost-all-non-smokers-like-the-e-cig/. Retrieved March 5, 2014.

[5] “How It Works.” NJOY http://www.njoy.com/how-it-works. Retrieved March 6, 2014.

[6] Google search for “free e-cigarette sample us.” Retrieved March 6, 2014.

[7] eCIGCheck. Webpage. http://ecigcheck.com/coupons/#.UxjYEWRDvCk. Retrieved March 6, 2014.

[8] Google search for “celebrity e-cig users image.” Retrieved March 6, 2014.

[9] Shute, Nancy. “Cities Take the Lead in Regulating Cigarettes.” Shots Blog. National Public Radio. March 5, 2014.

[10] Tavernise, Sabrina. “A Hot Debate Over E-cigarettes as a Path to Tobacco or From It.” The New York Times. February 23, 2014.

[11] http://www.njoy.com/. Retrieved March 6, 2014.

[12] http://vapingstores.com/united-states/. Retrieved March 6, 2014.

^[13] Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. “7 Ways E-Cigarette Companies Are Copying Big Tobacco’s Playbook.” Tobacco Unfiltered Blog. October 2, 2013. 

[14] YouTube query for “e-cigarette infomercial.”

[15] Liz at ANR. “Do You Think Blu E-Cigarettes Should Be Promoted at Six Flags.” Action Alert. Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights. Retrieved March 6, 2014. 

[16] The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association. “E-Cigarette History: A Historical Timeline of Electronic Cigarettes.” Webpage. Retrieved March 5, 2014.

[17] Ayers, JW, and KM Ribisl, JS Brownstein. “Tracking the Rise in Popularity of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Electronic Cigarettes) Using Search Query Surveillance.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2011;40(4):448-453.

[18] Jeffrey, Don. “FDA Can’t Regulate Electronic Cigarettes as Drug US Appeal Court Rules.” Bloomberg News. December 12, 2007.

[19] King, Brian, et. al. “Awareness and Ever Use of Electronic Cigarettes Among U.S. Adults, 2010–2011.” Nicotine and Tobacco Research. February 13, 2013.

[20] Catherine Corey, MSPH, et. al. “Notes from the Field: Electronic Cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011–2012.” MMWR. September 6, 2013, Vol. 62, No. 35.

[21] Richtel, Matt. “E-Cigarettes Under Aliases Elude the Authorities.” New York Times. March 5, 2014.

^[22] Goodman, Andrew. “E-Cigarettes Are Smoking Hot - Four Ways To Invest In Them. Forbes. December 5, 2013.

[23] McArdle, Mega. “E-Cigarettes: A $1.5 Billion Industry Braces for FDA Regulation.”Business Week. Febraury 6, 2014.

[24] Wilson, Reid. “Awaiting FDA, States Pursue Their Own E-cigarette Rules.” GovBeat Blog. The Washington Post. October 29, 2013.

[25] Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Consumer Updates.

[26] FDA. Consumer Updates.

[27] Siegel, MB, Tanwar, KL, Wood KS. “Electronic Cigarettes as a Smoking-Cessation: Tool Results from an Online Survey.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine.  40(4):472-5. April 2011.

[28] “How E-cigs Eliminate the No Smoking Section.” Blu Cig Blog Post.

[29] Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. “An E-Cigarette Ad on an Itsy, Bitsy Bikini: Teens sure to be Attracted by Ad in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.” Tobacco Unfiltered Blog Post. February 24, 2014.

[30] Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. “7 Ways E-Cigarette Companies Are Copying Big Tobacco’s Playbook.”

[31] Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. “Ho Ho – Oh No: E-Cigarette Ad Exploits Santa Claus.”  December 17, 2013.

[32] Elliot, Stuart. “E-cigarette Makers’ Ads Echo Tobacco’s Heyday.” New York Times. August 30, 2013.

[33] Tavernise, Sabrina

[34] NJOY via Business Wire. “NJOY Expands Senior Management Team Appoints Chief.” Press Release. November 21, 2013.

[35]Daily Mail. “Meet the ‘Vapers’: E-Cigarette Craze Inspires Bizarre New-Sub-Culture.” May 14, 2013.

[36] http://vapenewsmagazine.com/. Retrieved March 6, 2014

[37] http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=vaper. Retrieved March 6, 2014.

^[38] Fernandez, Elizabeth. “US Kids Who Use E-Cigs More Likely to Progress From Experimentation to Established Smoking, Less Likely to Quit, Smoke More.” University of California San Francisco. Press Release. March 6, 2014.