Me, My Selfie, and I: A Reflection Blog on News Story Annotation with the Selfie Museum

As most of our world and sources of information have become dominated by digital platforms, the question of scrutiny and understanding where our sources come from remains the utmost priority. Finding credible sources supported by factual evidence, reliable reporters and outlets, and accurate external sources is crucial in finding a trustworthy news source. Reporter Tamia Boyd from the Greenville News is a prime example of how strong stories are made in her recent article “Selfie Museum in Greenville Curates Space for People to Create Content.”

Tiffany Simmons, a female business owner, has taken the phrase “let me take a selfie” and curated it into a real place that has seen massive success since its grand opening. Tamia Boyd, a member of the Greenville News since October 2020, published her findings through the Greenville News Online Web Page.

Picture provided by: Greenville News

The Pixel Experience has become the first selfie museum and content creation center for Instagram users in Greenville, South Carolina. Coined with the term “Instagram Museums,” people have traveled miles to come to take pictures and create content for their channels and have the option to self-explore four rooms with twenty-two different background drops. Tiffany and Bryant Simmons, the owners of The Pixel Experience, started this business when they had to step away from their jobs as nurses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tiffany says that she wanted to give Greenville community members a chance to “think creatively outside of the box” and build a community of content creators.

Tiffany and Bryant’s business is starting a conversation among Greenville citizens, especially the younger generation and freelancers who use their platforms to generate content. Tamia Boyd personally interviewed the Simmons family, where she learned the strategies for starting a business, how they decided to make the first selfie museum in our local area, and their success.

Picture provided by: Greenville News

Boyd did not demonstrate any bias or grammatical errors within her report, and she utilized her sources well. She supported her main point through her interview with the Simmons family and used their testimony and experience as the article’s source.

As media consumers and content creators, we need to vet a news article. We need to critically analyze it, do background research on the sources, check for solid credibility, and see that it gives us valuable insight.