gone, gone, & gone

Final Project Outline

I am doing my Final Project on the book “Tribes: We need you to lead us.” I have decided to do a blog series through Wix. I have used Wix in the past and it is a great alternative to traditional blog websites because Wix offers different templetes that will make my blog more engaging.

The book discusses mainly many leadereship lessons and takeaways that can be applied to the transition from traditional forms of marketing to using social media. I think I will be able to tie in a variety of ways how leadership and tribes relates to social media.

So far, I intend to make links and discussions between leadership and the effects of social media in:
1. Status Quo
2. Religion and Practice
3. Communication and learning how to leverage this
4. Change and reinvention
5. Building a community

For my digital/visual aspects, I think including some of my sources, such as articles would be interesting to back up my conclusions.

-@yerrramy

Hootsuite Reflection Post

When I first heard that we would become certified using Hootsuite and that it would help boost our resumes, I thought it would be cool. However I still had no freakin idea what it was! Even reading a little about it in our assignments, I was still confused. I watched the videos and I understood it a little more, but yet again, still confused. I have to describe Hootsuite as one of those things that you have to play around with to really understand it.

Once I actually made an account and messed around with it, I was mindblown. It seemed confusing to use just because you could do SO much on it. This is a good thing. As a student, I could only wonder, why any student would need this because it was so impressive, only big brands and corporations would need this!

With that being said, I think it is really cool and extremly useful for brands and companies to make use of hootsuite. My favorite feature is that you can add streams and monitor all of the social media feeds that you wanted. It is super helpful and organized very well in the sections to scroll and not get confused what you are monitoring.

The tab that allows you to look at your analytics and metrics is very useful for comapnies who want to see their audience, who is re-tweeting and etc; Especially since it does all the calculations for you is very efficient and saves time for your company.

I would say that watching the tutorial videos was extremly helpful. Had I not watched the videos and just started playing with the program, I would be very confused. Looking at all the great tools Hootsuite offers, I can see where these vidos are necessary. For overall organization and user-friendliness, I think they did pretty well. They had a ton of tabs to open different tools, but it did not get too confusing. I think with time is what will allow you to really learn how to use the program.

My big question though, is if the program is already so complex to use, I can only imagine how complicated it was in the process of building the whole program. For what you are paying to use it, I think it is well worth it for companies to invest in.

I am proud knowing that I am certified in aprogram that is so complex and powerful to use!

What is your favorite feature of Hootsuite?

-@yerrramy

What Happens on Campus Stays on Youtube Blog Post

When I initially picked up the book, it seemed like it would be a quick and easy read, and it was! I love books that get straight to the point and that are easy to follow. For my section, I covered lessons learned from average people like us and also big organizations, as well as the chapter on useful reputation tools.

For the Lessons learned chapter, the book breaks it down into how your use of social media effects your personal family life, your career, teams & athletics, and in crime & politics. I always knew that social media effected a large chunk of your life, but to see how Qualman breaks it down into different parts of ones life shows how important your social media reputation is!

Here are some lessons learned that surprised me or I thought was interesting:

In Personal & Family: Don’t text & walk!
We all hear about Don’t text & Drive, but have you ever heard of this? This is my first time seeing it in word, but I have always thought about this being a thing because I witness it all the time. I will be at a cross walk and I see students texting and not even paying attention when cars are yielding to turn! This is becoming more and more common as we become obsessed with staring down at our phones. Qualman offers some tips for if you have to use your phone when walking:
1. Use the voice command on your phone
2. Pull out of the general flow of pedestrian traffic
3.Stop walking

In Teams & Athletics: Think twice about emotional tweets
Big into sports? Passionate about a specific team? More times than not, fans will take their rants and anger to social media when they are upset about a score, however you should always “measure your words twice and post once, especially when it involves an emotional topic.” But what happens when a famous person posts an emotional tweet? They get double the backlash. When ATL Falcons Roddy White heard the verdict for the George Zimmerman case, he tweeted an offense tweet that got him in trouble and he has to apologize.

Have you ever done something like this before?

I have included a link below that shows more example of companies on Twitter that have messed up and how you can learn from them:
http://www.businessinsider.com/13-epic-twitter-fails-by-big-brands-2012-2
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The next section was on 15 reputation tools that come in handy, some including:
-Brand Yourself
-Buffer
-Buzz Handle
-Epic browser
-Google Alerts
-Google Analytics
-Hootsuite

Have you heard of any of these? What are your thoughts on using tools for your social media reputation?

Personally for me, I think regardless of how well these sites help you manage your social media reputation, YOU are in control of what you post. Everyone on social media should be aware that not everything is fully “private” and we should be cautious. Even for those that don’t care, what you post is there forever.

-@yerrramy

Top 10 Apps/Online resources every college student needs to take advantage

I will be a senior in the Fall and I don’t know where the time has flown by. If I could relive my college career back to Freshman year, I would totally do it! For those about to enter college, these are the apps and online resources that every college student should take advantage of! From saving money to staying organized, these apps are a life saver. You won’t be surprised to see that your peers around you probably have half of these on the list, and there is a reason why!

Here is my list in no specific order:

1. GroupMe: Let’s be real, almost all of your assignments in your classes will probably be group work. Don’t know them enough to add them on facebook or too many numbers in your phone already from past groups? This app is great for networking and communicating with group members or just even your friend group! 9/10 chances that your group will even suggest to communicate through Group me. Don’t be that person who does not have this app downloaded so you don’t get the messages in the group! This app is easy to use for communication where you can customize your group name, group picture, and avatar. You can also mute the chat and its FREE.

2. Spotify Premium: If you have spotify, but don’t have premium, you are missing out on the advantages of being a student! As a student, you can pay $5 a month for ad-free music and skipping. Throwing a (responsible) party? Going on a road-trip with friends? Or just hanging out with friends on a chill weekend in the dorms (which will happen alot!), then spotify premium is super useful! You will get lots of uses from the app, I promise!

3. Amazon Prime: Another advantage of being a student is Amazon Prime. For a discounted rate of $50 a year, you can order all your school needs and textbooks with 2 day free shipping. We all know we wait last minute to get books and with the 2 free day shipping it saves a life! If you are too cheap to pay the yearly subscription, they will offer a 3 month free subscription too. Or if you are like me, borrow your friend’s account.

4. Fitness App/ Blogilates: Being in college, it is hard to find time to work out. I am not one that is big on fitness, but sometimes I will have the urge to work-out. I love doing pilates, so my favorite app is Blogilates because you can follow monthly calander workout plans and see easy tutorials you can do in your own bedroom! Any fitness app will work, and when you have one downloaded already on your phone, it can keep you accountable for when you do want to work out!

5. Guardian Rave app: I was told to download this my first day Freshman year. It is a safety/ protective app that is linked to your school’s campus secruity. With the growing number of crimes on campus, it is useful to have just in case something happens. You can also update your current position and send it to the campus security just in case you are walking around a sketchy area to make sure they know you get home safely. I have never had to use it, but I like knowing I have it ready when I need it. Better safe than sorry!

6. Georgia College app: Every school has their own school app, but do you really go here if you don’t have it?? It was useful for me when I was a young freshman because I had nowhere I was going. They had campus maps that helped me get around when I did not want to look like a fool looking at an actual map. It was also super helpful when I was in the dorms because you could check the status of available laundry washers. Nothing is worse than walking all the way down to the 1st floor (I lived on the 4th floor) with your laundry baskets and none were open. It helped me save time and I did not have to fight someone for a empty washer.

7. Sleep Cycle app: Let’s be real, when you get to college, you WILL lose some sleep. I liked having this app because it helped me keep track of the exact amount of time I was getting sleep. I could also see when throughout the night I was getting my most deep sleeps. Plus, some apps have an alarm system seperate from your phone alarm (which are SO annoying!). The alarms are a lot more soothing and make you or your roommate not want to throw your phone out the window.

8. Venmo: “Oh just venmo me.” is what you will hear quite often from your college peers. To be honest, I only recently started using it, but I think I will find more uses of it. This app is a easy pay/transfer money system where you can pay back friends and collect money from friends. As college students, we don’t always have cash on us, so this is very convenient to have. You just find them on the app and can send them immediate transfers that are linked to their bank.

9. Google Calander: There are not a lot of people that I know uses this, but as an active officer in a variety of clubs, it is hard to juggle everything on your schedule. With Google calander, you can sync your calander with people on your phone and see all your important dates. You can also color code everything which is nice. And especially since I use most of the Google services like Google Docs, spreadsheet etc; I like being able to easily transfer dates to my calander.

10. SIGN- UP FOR ALL THE FREE DEALS!!
This is not something I did before college, but once I got to college, I realized the importance of free stuff. There are a million stores and food places that offer free things when you sign up for the app. Sign me up!!! Here are some that I have downloaded and I don’t regret at all.

-Panera: Download their app and you can get a free dessert!
-Dunkin Donuts: Sign up for your free doughnut when it is your birthday. Who does not love free stuff on their birthday??
-CFA: I rememeber when they first put out their app, if you downloaded it, you could get a free entree.

Here is a link to other useful apps to check out:
http://mashable.com/2016/08/28/must-have-college-apps/#wdyRNMYmOOqo

College is hard man, says every college student. However there are a ton of resources and tools, thanks to technology that can make your life easier. Download them now!

-@yerrramy

Groundswell Reaction Post

In comparison to Socialnomics, Groundswell is a more in-depth look at understanding and learning how to use social technology to the best of your advantage. I can tell that lots of research and study went into studying the Groundswell because it is a harder read compared to the first book. Pulling from what it is, why it is important and how to manipulate the Groundswell are all good points the book makes.

The most fascinating part of the book so far is learning about the social technographics profile. When I thought of social media, I only thought there were these types of people online:
1. Those that actively participated on social media
2. Those that despised social media
3. Trolls

I came to find out that those that actively participated on social media can be divided into further categories.

Conversationalists: This group actively participates in back and forth dialogue and updates at least weekly.

Critics: This group reacts, comments and rates/reviews content online

Collectors: This elite group, as the book describes, collects information using RSS feeds and keeps up with tags and saved URL’s. To be honest, this group’s purpose kind of confuses me.

And then you have Joiners and Spectators, who I feel like should be in the same category. Why? Because if one joins a special media site, you can expect for them to also spectate right? Atleast that is what I do. Why join if you don’t “stalk” or keep up with people on your social media, or as the chapter describes Spectators as those that consume what is produced.

I think it was important for the chapter to mention that there are also creators. Before seeing this, I guess I always viewed the creators as the Businesses. However after reading that Businesspeople are still PEOPLE, it makes sense that they too fall into these categories like everyone else.

The social technographics profile is vital for many businesses because it shows them the type of people that are on social media and how to attract their attention. A different approach for businesses would be to look at those they are not attracting, and why this is the case. Should businesses make it a goal to attract as many people as possible?

I can see where for businesses, such as diapers, they would only really need to attract future mothers, but if you look at brands such as Converse, they may only receive attention from young adults. However Converse would probably consider reaching out to older adults too, since it is an older generation of a shoe brand.

This all goes back to your company’s objectives, which the book points out to be important in pursuing the Groundswell. They emphasized listening, talking, energizing, supporting, and embracing. I think this is important for all brands and that is why I included a website that looked at the top brands that do well on a variety of social media:

http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/these-brands-are-striving-top-honors-social-media-2016-shorty-awards-170213/

Which brand did you recognize that you agree does well on their social media? What objective do they exemplify?

-@yerrramy

Socialnomics Review 2: Social Media in a different eye

https://contently.com/strategist/2017/06/12/ceos-use-social-media/

My first initial thought on social media while reading Qualman’s Socialnomics was that social media was something created for people to connect. Connection is a broad term and can mean a variety of things for people. To me, it meant relating and understanding something or someone on a deeper level regardless of if you knew them or not. As I moved toward the end of the book, my idea of social media changed. I began to see trends in how social media is not just a platform for connecting, but also that it is a carrier for HOW to connect and understand each other better. What I mean by that is I started seeing a different perspective on who uses social media and how you can use it effectively and to your advantage.

From the business perspective, I always know there was a Business- to Customer relationship that social media helped to forge. And I find this really important for companies wanting to elevate growth by looking at what the customers are saying online, both negative and positive. Businesses are able to “kill 2 birds with one stone” when they are using social media to read what people are saying about their company and how they can improve on it. There is less time being spent on the phones talking to represenatives who don’t want to talk to you and that takes a long time to get connected to. Instead, you can get direct and immediate resposnes online, but also feed off of what other customers are saying, which is very time efficient. Can you think of a time where this happened to you?

What I have come to find is that there is also a Business-to-Business relationship that businesses can use to their advantage in forging relationships with their competitors. Having a presence in the social media world and showing awareness to your similar businesses allows you to learn from your competitors mistakes, but also take advantage of what they are doing wrong and how your company can do it better. I still don’t believe that every business needs to be on social media if they don’t need to, but I’ve learned that just because I may not follow them or have an interest in what they are selling, a company that I do follow may be clients with them. And that is the beauty of social media allowing people to connect beyond what is in front of you.

In the article attached from Contently above, it did research and found that most companies active on their social media are retail, entertainment and media companies. Companies not as active include energy and air travel companies. I found this surprising to hear about air travel companies because these are the companies that are receiving the most backlash everyday. I think big companies like these should be on social media especially if they work with customer service a lot. Social media is where most people take their rants and opinions, and that is something companies should be paying close attention to. Social media platforms are where most opinions about companies are being generated and can also spread quickly (if negative). I can only think of the many horror air-travel incidents in the past year (Delta, United airlines…)

Can you name of companies that fit into this category where they have a reputation? Why do you think they are the ones avoiding social media?

I also appreciated the Social success secrets that Qualman gave to 1) appreciate positive comments 2) generate listening reports and 3) Always asking ‘What is the social play?“ Like I’ve said many times, I think there is a difference between companies that do social media well and those that don’t. The article also reiterates this point too. It said, “It would be unwise for company leadership to ignore social. While influence is hard to measure, social gives executives a unique opportunity to join and shape public conversation.” The way I interpreted this was that companies that are new into the competitive market or that are trying to find their place in the market and want to connect with their customers should not be afraid.

There will always be room to get something out of social media, even if it seems very little. There are plenty of opportunities to grow your social media presence and understand your customer needs, but you first have to be active on social media to explore all the different things you can gain from it. For example, looking at what your competitors are doing well to interact with their customers and how you can apply that to your company. Or you can look at potential clients that share similar ethics and missions as yours to collaborate with them. The opportunities are endless.

-@yerrramy
What are your major takeaways from Socialnomics?

Social Media, Social Smmedia

maddystone:

This June I am taking a course called Web for Mass Communication and currently reading a book written by the notorious Erik Qualman. The name of the book is Socialnomics aka the effects of social media for dummies. Qualman lets us in on a few of his secrets; providing insight on how social media factors into the business world as well as our everyday lives. 

I think we can all agree that social media has completely taken over almost every aspect of our lives. Who knew something inanimate could hold so much power? I use the world power because in my opinion, social media controls us. It influences the way we perceive ourselves, others, and the world around us.    

In the begging, social media provided a way for us to communicate. The ability to reconnect with old friends or long distant family members quickly turned into opinionated posts and young adults competing for “likes.” It did not take long AT ALL for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to transform our world entirely. 

The power and authority that media platforms hold is mindbogglingly. It is virtually impossible to escape it and even harder not to conform to it. Please don’t get me wrong, I believe social media has many positive attributes, but at the end of the day I think it is toxic. 

Toxic. That word might seem a bit dramatic to some, this is a very controversial topic after-all. Understanding social media can be difficult in general, but especially when you factor in different generations. For example, after reading the first 5 Chapters of Socialnomics, it is clear that there is a generational divide. The authors are well aware of social’s media’s purpose (connection/communication), but unfortunately do not understand it on a deeper level. 

It is very clear in the book, as well as online, that the younger generations use social media for different reasons. Which makes sense considering it has not always been around. It is hard to form one solid opinion on how social media affects society because it depends on the user. Some people are more active than others, therefore the impact it has can vary. 

I could rant on and on about social media and how it effects the individual, but I’ll spare you the pain of listening to me any longer. Social media is a beautiful thing that unfortunately has devilish tendencies. A bit of an oxymoron if you will.  

http://time.com/4459153/social-media-body-image/

Socialnomics post 1

http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/step-aside-creators-brands-are-taking-over-youtube-165964/ One of the greatest takeaways from Socialnomics so far, is the appreciation for what social media offers, such as the ability to access a wide array of information and research though a variety of outlets and platforms. Particuarly through social media, one can appreciate the unique branding and content on each platform. In this post, I discuss specifically about the power of Youtube. In this 2015 article on Adweek, they discuss how big brands are starting to come on top and relesing content on Youtube that many people are obviously enjoying based on the increase in millions of subscriptions every year. This has been a trend not just on Youtube, but all social media. Brands such as Comcast, Wendy’s, and even politicians have taken to twitter to address issues and concerns, or even release new products they plan to come out with. Brands are starting to realize where their mass audiences are and are attempting to build connections with them through these outlets. Specifically on Youtube, users that decide to subscribe to their channels get notifications and quick access to their latest videos. One of the big differences between Youtube and other social media outlets, is Youtube’s branding that is based off of creating original, creative content in video formats. This is where the many small youtube creators come into play. There are a huge variety of ‘youtubers’ that specialize in many different things, such as those that do reviews on make-up, fashion haul videos, book and movie reviews, and even youtube comedians. They all have mass followings and loyal subscribers. Many who follow their Youtube channels, most of the times follow their other social media too, including snapchat and instagram. I mean, why wouldn’t you? They are basically like celebraties, but more approachable and create their own videos and content. And best of all, they read and respond to your comments, putting out videos that their subscribers ask for. And that is the rewarding thing about social media. But what happens when they start putting out videos that are not true to their brand, but sponsored? Youtube in itself is a easy promotional site for brands wanting more attention minus the cost. If you look at big youtubers, such as Aspyn&Parker, Miranda Sings, and itsjudytime, they get paid to sponsor and promote products in their videos that receive millions of views! How do you respond to creators that you are loyal to, but release sponsored videos? Does that make them fake creators? The other side of this is that some Youtubers don’t do promotional videos, but rather review products with honesty. I know many times where I have watched videos on different make-up products or seen reviews on movies before deciding if I want to watch it or not. They are entertaining, informative, and you can make your own judgements based on video content from a real person, that you can actually see. Who are some of your favorite youtube creators and why? Have you ever used youtube to research a product?