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World Cup online: Brazil’s shock shatters records

By WTOP Staff

BARBARA ORTUTAY
AP Technology Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — As the World Cup neared its end this week, Twitter had a field day with Brazil’s humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals, which became the most-discussed sports game in the social network’s history.

While Germany barreled down on a stunned Brazilian team to score five goals in the match’s first half, quips such as #ThingMoreLikelyThanBrazilWinningTheWorldCup and #TeamsBetterThanBrazil became top trending topics on Twitter. Teams better than Brazil, naturally, produced lots of photos of children’s soccer teams, and at least one of a team of puppies.

Here’s a look at how the World Cup fared online this week:

— “RED WEDDING”

With Neymar nursing a back injury, Brazil was already down its star player on Tuesday. But as click-fishing websites like to say, you wouldn’t believe what happened next. Germany delivered goal after goal (including four in a seven-minute span) that had Brazilian fans sobbing, yelling insults at their team and sitting in stunned silence. It may have been around the fourth or fifth goal — hard to tell, it was all happening so fast — that tweets such as “This is the World Cup’s Red Wedding” began popping up, a reference to the infamous “Game of Thrones” episode in which several key characters are slaughtered.

The hashtag #PrayForBrazil also became popular, but God demurred. A parody account called @TheTweetOfGod, which has some 1.4 million followers, replied with “Stop praying to Me, Brazil. Even I can’t help you now.” Another widely circulated image was an altered photo of the famous Brazilian Christ the Redeemer statue, holding his face in his palm in exasperation.

— CURSE OF THE AGING ROCKER

Mick Jagger is accused of jinxing the World Cup teams he supports, including Brazil. The tradition to blame the Rolling Stones singer began four years ago, at the World Cup in South Africa. In that tournament, Brazil lost to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. Jagger, who has a son with former Brazilian model Luciana Gimenez, showed up at the game wearing a Brazilian team jersey.

On Google, Brazilian searches for “Mick Jagger” increased 16-fold in the 24 hours around the match. Jagger again was in the audience — as he had been with six other games where his team lost.

— FACEBOOK, TWITTER SCORE

On Facebook, 66 million people had more than 200 million posts, comments and likes during the Brazil-Germany match. Sixteen million of those people were in Brazil, the company said. On Twitter, meanwhile, the match became the single most-discussed sports game ever, with 35.6 million tweets sent during it. The previous record was 24.9 million posts for Super Bowl XLVIII in February.

— STREAMING FAIL

A few dozen patrons at Rocky’s Bar and Grille in New York City watched Wednesday’s match between Argentina and the Netherlands. After a scoreless snoozer of a match, fans sipped beer and cheered after Argentina’s Lionel Messi scored the first goal of the penalty shootout. Then the Netherlands missed the next one. More cheers erupted, as this crowd clearly leaned toward Argentina. But the cheering quickly turned to groans when the TV’s streaming feed cut out, and the busy bartender continued to serve drinks as if nothing happened. With just moments to go in the game, an enterprising patron whipped out her smartphone, turned on the streaming feed and held it so the happy crowd behind her could cheer as Argentina won the shootout 4-2.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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