As a frequent Facebook user, it bothers me that teens and adults do not think twice about what they post online. More and more people need to think twice before they post certain language, pictures, videos, etc... over all social media pages. I have seen some people post some pretty graphic material on their websites; however, they need to realize that what they post could keep them from getting that job they have always wanted. If you think no one besides your friends or family will see what you post.....think again. Employers constantly check your social media sites. If you apply for a job, the employer can look for you on Facebook, Twitter, etc.... and see what kind of person you are before they decide to hire you. If you read the latest journal articles on hiring and social media, you will find that what you post online can have an impact on whether or not you get that dream job. However, do not take my word for it. Please do the research and you will out that what I'm saying is true. So I hope the next time you use social media, you will think twice about what you post. Have a great day!!!
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/16/how-social-media-can-help-or-hurt-your-job-search/
http://www.canadianliving.com/life/work/8_social_media_mistakes_that_could_damage_your_career.php
http://www.nwitimes.com/business/jobs-and-employment/how-social-media-can-help-you-lose-a-job/article_d3880539-75ce-5c2e-bad3-2fdbecc8dd65.html
Let's Talk About Strategic Communication
My blog is about marketing, public relations, journalism, the media, and communication.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Monday, October 7, 2013
Must Watch This Movie - Disconnect
Hello Readers,
This will be my last blog for a while. I plan to write again
at some point but not on a weekly basis. These last few weeks I hope that you
have enjoyed my postings and have learned a lot from them. I hope you learned a
lot about media convergence, citizen blogging, crowd-sourcing, branding, and
children/teens and using emerging media. One day when I teach communication
courses, I hope to use this blog as an example for my students. As I end this chapter
of my blog for now, I would like to recommend a movie that I have recently watched
with my husband. The movie is called Disconnect. It is a great movie for all communication
professionals to watch. The film talks about how we are so connected online;
however, we are so disconnected with the people around us. The film follows the
lives of several families that are somewhat destroyed via cellphones and
computers. This movie is a wonderful film about technology and human
relationships. The last blog that I posted concentrated on children and young
teen adults and the pros and cons of them using technological devices. The
movie Disconnect definitely demonstrates a teenager that has his life turned
upside down because of mobile phones and the internet. The movie also shows how
teenage bullying can go too far with the help of digital devices. As I have
stated previously, technology is not all bad; however, if we become too
consumed by it, it can destroy us. Both adults and children need to learn
boundaries and establish limits when it comes to using digital devices. As you
will see and find out, if you watch the movie, people that are sucked in and
become addicted to technology tend to lose control of their own lives. If you
want to learn more about the movie before renting or buying, please check out
the link below:
Thank you for reading my blogs. Please check back periodically
for new postings.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Computers & Smartphones: Safe for Children and Young Adults?
My nephew Jay using my Mom's laptop. |
References:
Devitt, K., &
Roker, D. (2009). The Role of Mobile Phones in Family Communication. Children & Society, 23(3), 189-202.
doi:10.1111/j.1099-0860.2008.00166.x
www.stopthetextstopthewrecks.org
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Image Is Everything
What exactly is someone’s
personal brand? Nance Rosen suggests that your personal brand is your image
and/or reputation. It is the image that you create for yourself to your family,
friends, the internet, and the company and customers that you work with on a
daily basis. Your personal brand tells the world what kind of person you are
and what kind of personality traits you have. Your personal brand can also tell
the public about which hobbies, travels, and projects you might be involved in;
however, but they are not limited to such. Also, the public can tell whether or
not you are easy-going, artistic, lethargic, egotistical, reliable, inventive, or
any other trait that you might possess. (2013) So, did you know what you say
and what you do online has consequences to your personal brand? Did you know if
you post things that are unethical or immoral you could be putting your company
and brand at risk? Nance Rosen states that anything you do on your social media
website can have an impact on your brand. For example, whatever pictures,
videos, and information that you put out there on the digital web such as on
Facebook or Twitter reflects your brand, company you work for, and you.
Therefore, if you post things like a half-nude picture of yourself or videos of
you partying and drinking with a group of friends, the public and your
potential clients will think that you do not take yourself and your job very
seriously. People that were interested in your brand may not be so interested
once they view your Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking page. However,
this is a two-way street, because your Facebook or Twitter page could or might be
filled with all sorts of family values and community projects. Therefore, having
good morals will show potential clients and the public that you care and are
passionate about your family, the community, and that you get involved.
Potential customers will probably be more interested and willing to invest in
you and your brand. (2013) Let us take a look back at the journalist that was
fired for her confessions on her personal blog site. Shea Allen and other journalists are supposed
to uphold a certain type of image to the public so people like you and me will
rely on their news coverage. Journalists have a certain code of ethics that they
are supposed to uphold. Shea Allen’s blog reflects that she is a person that
may not be trusted. She has obviously admitted to sleeping on the job and that
she will ignore her clients if she deems them as boring. (Eck, 2013) This sort
of behavior will not help her brand or the company that she represents. People
that read Shea Allen’s blog will most likely, but not all, have a hard time
trusting her. Another example of how someone’s personal brand can destroy their
company’s image is the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal case. Criminal charges were filed
against Mr. Sandusky for being accused of sexually molesting eight athlete boys
from Penn State University. These charges and this case have had a huge impact
on Penn State’s reputation. The school has lost donations, sponsors, and
students due to the case. Jerry Sandusky’s personal brand has negatively
impacted Penn State. Penn State will have to work hard in order to regain and
rebuild their reputation. (Carpenter, 2011) Communication professionals need to
be able to show the public and their company that they are hard-working, honest
individuals that can be trusted. Also, Nance Rosen notes that it is highly
important for professionals to stand out above the crowd on their social media websites.
If your Facebook or Twitter page is boring, does not reflect your knowledge of your
brand, or highlights you in some special way, you could be overlooked by
potential employers. (2013) What is a good way to spice up your personal brand?
For starters, do not post things that are inappropriate. You need to focus on
your personal traits that will attract and appeal to potential customers or prospective
employers. Larry Chiagouris and Brant Wansley suggest that your website must
capture your viewer’s attention and build awareness of what your company and/or
your brand is all about. Once you have the client’s attention, he or she will
decide whether or not to do business with your company or you. Therefore, your
website or social media site should appeal to the public’s desires and
interest. Once a customer, client, or potential employer has become familiar
with your website and you, he or she will trust you. When there is trust
involved between others and you, the others will invest in your brand. You are
more likely to get more job offers or your company that you already work for
will increase in customers. Not to mention, if your company website does not
look like a company that can be trusted, your customers will question whether
or not share their most personal information with you such as their credit card
number. The same is true for general brands. Companies like Yahoo and Amazon
must keep their reputation shown in a positive light online. It is important for
corporations to build a solid relationship with their customers. Organizations
can do this by interacting with their customers on their websites and implementing
strategies on their website that will continue to attract and appeal to the
customer’s needs. In other words, the company must keep the customer engaged
and satisfied. (2010) Branding is extremely important, and what you say or do
has an impact on your brand. In conclusion, you always need to think about your
actions before you do them, because a bad post or so forth can cause your
company and you customers. As I have already mentioned earlier, cases like Shea
Allen and Jerry Sandusky are perfect examples of personal branding that has gone
wrong. In the world of marketing, it is completely true when they say image is
everything.
References:
Fundamentals of personal brands
http://www.businessinsider.com/fundamentals-of-personal-branding-2012-10
http://www.businessinsider.com/fundamentals-of-personal-branding-2012-10
Penn State Scandal: Image Damaged; What Can
University Do? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/20/penn-state-scandal-image-_n_1103713.html
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Is Crowdsourcing A Good Thing?
Crowdsourcing is when companies use the public
crowd to help the company solve complex problems. Crowdsourcing is an online
distributed problem-solving and productive model that has emerged in recent
years. Companies can post a problem online and a vast number of individuals can
offer solutions to the company’s problem. Once an individual has a winning
idea, that individual will be awarded some form of a bounty such as money. One
of the many benefits to crowdsourcing is that the company does not have to
upfront a huge amount of money to get professionals to help solve their
problems. Many small corporations have had some success using crowd sourcing as
a way to solve complex problems. In Daren Brabham’s article, he gives several
examples of companies that have had success with crowdsourcing. Threadless and
iStockphoto are two small corporations that have benefited greatly by the use
of crowdsourcing. Threadless does not have to pay professional designers to
design their shirts. Anyone that has access to the online world can go to
Threadless’s website with a t-shirt design and if the staff like it and the
design receives good ratings, then Threadless will adopt the contributor’s
design. The individual of the winning design will get a $1,500 check and $500
worth of Threadless t-shirts. IStockphoto uses a very similar strategy. Amateur
photographers submit three photos to be judged by the iStockphoto staff. Once
the photos are picked, the photographer will receive a 20 cent royalty for every
time their photos are downloaded. Each picture on the website cost from a
dollar to five dollars. The more extravagant the photograph is the higher the
cost of the image will be; for example, the best photos might cost forty
dollars. Companies are able to use ordinary people that use the internet to
help build their company without having a bunch of professional staff members.
This allows the company to save enormous amount of money. (2008) The problem
with crowdsourcing is that the crowd could turn on the corporation. When the
crowd turns against the organization this is called crowdslapping. Think about
it, the crowd that has the winning t-shirt design or winning photograph is not
getting paid the same or nearly as much as someone that has professional
training in design or photography. Also these freelancers do not have to be
provided with health insurance, paid vacations and sick leave. They do not
require an office or workspace nor does the company have to provide computers
or software for these individuals. If the crowd were to become angry at the
fact that their contributions do not match their compensation, such publicity
could be damaging to the company. Some might even call it “labor exploitation
on the internet (Brabham, 2008).” Also, the new age of crowdsourcing is causing
professional photographers to become out-of-date. Brabham states, “Because of
the willingness for amateur photographers to ‘dump’ their work on iStockphoto
for next to nothing, professional stock photographer are becoming obsolete. The
tragic tale in this loss of jobs is the last tail of an increasing obsolescence
of the industrial economy as a whole, and the diffusion of technology (like the
digital camera) spread of expert knowledge (via the web), and our discovery of
value in amateurs can be seen as refreshing and liberating in its own way.
(2008)” In other words, professionals are losing their jobs to crowdsourcing,
because crowdsourcing allows individuals to connect with companies and be a
part of the company’s agenda and product. So what is in it for the crowd? Well,
the crowd can sport their own ideas and or photos. For example, an individual
that won a t-shirt design could sport his or her own design; therefore,
promoting him or herself as an innovator, creator, and designer. A winning iStockphoto
photographer could add that to his or her resume or portfolio. The crowd gets
to become part of a business or industry that they have not yet been able to
break into as a full time employee. Individuals who would love to be a
professional photographer can now participate with iStockphoto to reach their
goals and dreams. Crowdsourcing is way for the ordinary person to play on the
same playing field as professionals without having the proper training or a
person who has the training but lacks the experience to land a job in their field.
The crowd gets to be creative, and they do get something such as money or so
forth for their participation. Not to mention, crowdsourcing participation
allows them a chance to advance in their careers. Some of the people have
become quite successful after they have dabbled in the world of crowdsourcing.
Jeff Howe states that Ed Melcarek has made over $35,000 by solving company’s
problems by participating on a website called InnoCentive. Mr. Melcarek helped
solve a problem that Colgate-Palmolive was having concerning injecting fluoride
powder into tubes without it disappearing into thin air. This particular
problem earned him $25,000 for solving the case. Melcarek also received $10,000
for solving the method to purifying silicone-based solvents. InnoCentive is another
website that allows the crowd to participate in corporate research and
development problems. Just like with iStockphoto and Threadless, individuals can
go to the website and submit solutions to several companies’ problems. (Brabham,
2008) Another individual by the name of Lisa Gagne has had huge success from
crowdsourcing. She has had over 390,000 of her photos downloaded on iStockphoto.
Her and her husband can now live very comfortably. (Brabham, 2008) However, another
problem with crowdsourcing is that there is still a digital divide in this
world. Not everyone is able to get online and have a fast connection speed.
There are many individuals that are unable to get high-speed internet. Also,
most people that are using the internet according to Brabham are white, middle
to upper class people with higher education. Therefore, the digital divide is causing
a lack of diversity in crowdsourcing. (2008) Much like anything else in this
fast paced ever evolving digital world, there is going to be ups and downs and
pros and cons. Crowdsourcing is no different.
References:
The rise of crowdsourcing
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.06/crowds.html
Crowdscourcing as a model for problem solving
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:FzA8ZJPoDlgJ:citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi%3D10.1.1.175.1623%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf+crowdsourcing+communication+site:.edu&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgygsqMZduSX5CLJmU2wHUnsbcgKJw9fx6vpuga6n-iPHdgxdWukF0Ex3h0X77RfymaUXnxNxgWGUmwKyoD6t1rIy7yO6aQ6UhXb-zhFB7rOFMUhhYvBghNCPBfuJu62WRWYcEg&sig=AHIEtbRAO1nnozPTzolSo-nTgX0NOu0dww
References:
The rise of crowdsourcing
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.06/crowds.html
Crowdscourcing as a model for problem solving
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:FzA8ZJPoDlgJ:citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi%3D10.1.1.175.1623%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf+crowdsourcing+communication+site:.edu&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgygsqMZduSX5CLJmU2wHUnsbcgKJw9fx6vpuga6n-iPHdgxdWukF0Ex3h0X77RfymaUXnxNxgWGUmwKyoD6t1rIy7yO6aQ6UhXb-zhFB7rOFMUhhYvBghNCPBfuJu62WRWYcEg&sig=AHIEtbRAO1nnozPTzolSo-nTgX0NOu0dww
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Pros and Cons of Citizen Journalism
I guess the first thing
to cover would be to define citizen journalism. According to Luke Goode,
citizen journalism is associated with the internet; however, this is not always
the case, citizen journalism does not always necessarily stay online. Sometimes
professional journalists will use eyewitness accounts, pictures, or video footage
as well as information found on the blogs of citizen journalists. Also, print
media sometimes have columns written by citizen journalists called soapbox
features. However, when the world of both the traditional journalism and
citizen journalists collide, the boundaries start to become increasingly
indistinct. He goes further to define the citizen journalist as being more than
someone who simply comments, reposts, or tags pictures on random websites. A
citizen journalist is someone who actually captures news worthy events as it is
happening and shares it with the rest of the world. The scope of the citizen
journalist is not limited to breaking news events. Investigative journalism is
also becoming more prevalent in the world of amateur news. A person researching
a company, business, or government agency for any number of reasons may stumble
upon some sort of scandal or potential wrong doing relating to that entity. If
this person takes this information and brings it to the public’s attention,
they have just become a citizen journalist. Mr. Goode goes further to explain
that we cannot ignore or dismiss the potential impact that citizen journalism
has on traditional journalism. One of the problems with nontraditional
journalism is the lack of regulation. A citizen journalist can take a story and
rework, change, or alter a story as it is circulating online; therefore,
changing the original story. In fact, without anyone to answer to or guidelines
to adhere to, they can simply make up their own news and post it online. (2009)
The average American is getting more and more involved in the political process, thanks in part to blogging and citizen journalism. James Surowiecki said in his TED Talk video that, “we are giving people that have never been able to talk before a voice, and we are able to access information that has always been there but has gone essentially untapped.” (2005) Before the world became so utterly and instantly connected, we were unable to discuss things like news, current events, and politics outside of our friends, family, and coworkers. With the communication technologies now available to us, we can talk to virtually anyone, anywhere, at any time. Today, people can go online and create blogs, websites, and profiles to discuss and promote anything and everything. Scattered throughout the seemingly never ending sea of information at our fingertips is citizen journalism. Sometimes you can find it were you least expect it. Mena Trott created a blog with the sole purpose of leaving a legacy of herself for the future generations of her family. She felt it was important to make a record of herself so that they could know who she was, beyond what memories of her that had been passed down. (2006) Though this blog is very personal in nature, it has the potential to be a platform for journalism. For instants, if in one of her daily posts she happened to mention a car crash that she had witnessed then that could be considered citizen journalism. By posting the when, where, and what type of vehicles were involved and so forth, she would be considered a citizen journalist.
Of course there are draw backs to citizen journalism. James Surowieck mentions the following about blogging in general, that people tend to lose their individuality. They jump on a band wagon about a particular topic and begin to lose their own opinion on the issue in favor of the views of the majority within the group. (2005) This behavior could have an impact on citizen journalism. For example, say a person were to post a story based on some information he or she had. Then the person also read another post about the same story, that person is more likely to change their story to match the other story not knowing if the facts in the other story were true or accurate. This is when citizen journalist should always fact-check their information. Chris Measures, who has had 15 years of PR experience, suggests there are three reasons why people should be wary of citizen journalism:
http://socialmediatoday.com/chris-measures/1430031/rise-citizen-journalism
The average American is getting more and more involved in the political process, thanks in part to blogging and citizen journalism. James Surowiecki said in his TED Talk video that, “we are giving people that have never been able to talk before a voice, and we are able to access information that has always been there but has gone essentially untapped.” (2005) Before the world became so utterly and instantly connected, we were unable to discuss things like news, current events, and politics outside of our friends, family, and coworkers. With the communication technologies now available to us, we can talk to virtually anyone, anywhere, at any time. Today, people can go online and create blogs, websites, and profiles to discuss and promote anything and everything. Scattered throughout the seemingly never ending sea of information at our fingertips is citizen journalism. Sometimes you can find it were you least expect it. Mena Trott created a blog with the sole purpose of leaving a legacy of herself for the future generations of her family. She felt it was important to make a record of herself so that they could know who she was, beyond what memories of her that had been passed down. (2006) Though this blog is very personal in nature, it has the potential to be a platform for journalism. For instants, if in one of her daily posts she happened to mention a car crash that she had witnessed then that could be considered citizen journalism. By posting the when, where, and what type of vehicles were involved and so forth, she would be considered a citizen journalist.
Of course there are draw backs to citizen journalism. James Surowieck mentions the following about blogging in general, that people tend to lose their individuality. They jump on a band wagon about a particular topic and begin to lose their own opinion on the issue in favor of the views of the majority within the group. (2005) This behavior could have an impact on citizen journalism. For example, say a person were to post a story based on some information he or she had. Then the person also read another post about the same story, that person is more likely to change their story to match the other story not knowing if the facts in the other story were true or accurate. This is when citizen journalist should always fact-check their information. Chris Measures, who has had 15 years of PR experience, suggests there are three reasons why people should be wary of citizen journalism:
1.
Citizen journalists
tend to be bias. Professional journalists are trained professionals that look
at both sides of a story and can write from a non-objective point of view.
Citizen journalist does not have the type of training; therefore, their stories
are not as credible as professionals.
2.
Citizen
journalists are not trained on the libel law. Professional journalists do have
this knowledge and training. They know what they can and cannot say in a news
story. An example of this is when citizen journalists wrongfully accused potential
suspects and alleged co-conspirators during and after the Boston marathon bombings.
The citizen journalists caused the police to take longer on the investigation.
It also caused huge problems for those that were wrongfully accused.
3.
Last but not
least, citizen journalists do not realize the copyright issues. Once a citizen
submits a story, video, or picture to the press or news site, that news sources
has the right to use the material however they choose to use it. (2013)
Even though Chris
Measures brings up three good points about why we should be wary of citizen
journalism, the fact is they are not going away any time soon. Professional
journalists and citizen journalists can learn a lot from each other and work
together in creating the news. When citizens see things that are news worthy,
they should tell professional journalists the story and details and let the
professionals research the story more thoroughly and write the articles.
However, there is no way to convince everyone in the world to do that, so for
now my advice would be to always fact-check what you read online. Thank you for
reading.
References:
Goode, L. (2009). Social news, citizen journalism
and democracy. New Media & Society, 11 (8), 1287-1305. Doi:10.1177/1461444809341393http://socialmediatoday.com/chris-measures/1430031/rise-citizen-journalism
When social media became news
http://www.ted.com/talks/james_surowiecki_on_the_turning_point_for_social_media.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/james_surowiecki_on_the_turning_point_for_social_media.html
Mena Trott on blogs
http://www.ted.com/talks/mena_trott_tours_her_blog_world.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/mena_trott_tours_her_blog_world.html
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Social Media? What's The Hype?
Social
media websites like Facebook and Twitter are changing the way the world communicates
with each other. Social networking sites are also changing the way companies
advertise and the way people receive the news. For instance, companies are
using Twitter and Facebook to market products to people who have a common
interest in their products. For example, I list on my Facebook page that I go
to college and that I like certain types of movies. All I see now on my feed
page are ads for colleges and movies. Also, people log on to their social
networking sites to get the latest news. I know that I have learned about
several stories from logging onto my Facebook page. However, I always go to creditable news media
sites to research the stories that I see on Facebook to make sure they are true
stories. Sarita Yardi and Danah Boyd
suggest that there were over 30,000 tweets about the shooting of a late-term
abortion doctor, Dr. George Tiller in 2009. People from all over started to dispute
the pro-choice/pro-life debate. (2010) Social media has a way of getting people
involved with the news. Actually, as I have mentioned before, ordinary people
can now distribute the news. We no longer have to wait to watch the news on
television. We can see it happening in real-time by using social media and
other sites. Clay Shirky mentions in his TED talk that people can upload real-time
news as it is happening. He gives a great example of how citizens in China
uploaded photos and videos of an earthquake before any news source or
government officials had a chance to say anything about the earthquake. Because
the Chinese government and the media could not contain the information, the
Chinese government placed a firewall so Chinese citizens could not have access
to sites such as Twitter. (2009) The Egyptian Government took similar action when
political uprisings in that country were being coordinated through social media
sites. This is a huge change in the way news is
dispersed to the public. Before the internet and social media sites, people
watched the news on the television or read the newspaper. Professional
journalist were the ones researching and finding out what was going on locally
and around the world to tell the public of their stories. People had to wait
for the news to come on or go buy a newspaper. The news was not in real-time,
and people could not read it instantly at any given time. In today’s society, as
long as you have access to the internet, you can watch what is going on around
you when something happens.
Social media is changing how companies look at marketing strategies. Some companies are laggards in the use of social media for their business; however, not using social media could harm their business. There are many good reasons why companies should use social media sites. Splash Media states the following on their web-site about the top 5 reasons why companies should use social media sites:
Companies should participate and socialize with their customers on social networking sites. This type of interaction allows for organizations to know exactly what customers like or dislike about their products. Todd Wasserman notes that organizations can use the following three strategies to market a brand to consumers:
The
organizations can use one or all of these strategies at the same time.
Companies who use the passion approach can upload pictures or commercials to
their social media sites of their brand associated with something their
customers like. For example, the Nike Company uses pictures of athletes
associated with Nike clothing. Companies that prefer to use the personality
strategy use humor or witty comments to appeal and attract consumers. For example,
Geico uses a funny gecko lizard and camel to appeal to their customers. The transparency
approach informs the consumers on what makes the product the best of the best
compared to all other like-minded products. For example, IBM uploads several blogs
informing the public of all the new innovations that IBM has to offer the
world. (2013)
However, there are some risks involved in using social media. Communication specialists always need to be professional on their social media web-sites. If communication specialists are not professional, it can cost them their jobs. They also need to be sure their personal sites and blogs are professional as well. Like it or not, what you post online can cost you your job. One journalist, Shea Allen, lost her job with WAAY for posting her top ten confessions on her personal blog. Among some of Shea Allen’s confessions, she admits to sleeping on the job, going bra-less during live broadcasts, and stealing mail and putting it back. (Eck, 2013) Once communication professionals enter the digital world, they are constantly being watched by the public and by their employers. Also, unfriending someone from your social media circle has real-life consequences. David Mielach mentions that social media users who were unfriended had a lower self-esteem, they felt unwanted, and a sense of loss of control. They were actually in a worse mood after a social media break-up. (2013) People need to be considerate of this when using professional or personal sites. Communication specialists should take the same precautions when posting on their company or organization’s web pages. For better or worse, social media has become an inescapable part of most people’s daily lives.
References:
Dynamic debates: An analysis of group polarization over time on Twitter
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/grads/y/yardi/pubs/Yardi_DynamicDebates.pdf
Facebook unfriending has consequences
http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3890-unfriend-social-media.html
How social media can make history (This is a TED Talk video)
http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html
Steal three social marketing tricks from top brands
http://mashable.com/2013/02/22/social-media-marketing-strategy/
WAAY (Huntsville) reporter fired after posting a
list of confessions to her personal blog
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/waay-reporter-fired-after-posting-list-of-confessions-to-personal-blog_b98996
Social media is changing how companies look at marketing strategies. Some companies are laggards in the use of social media for their business; however, not using social media could harm their business. There are many good reasons why companies should use social media sites. Splash Media states the following on their web-site about the top 5 reasons why companies should use social media sites:
1. The
conversation is already out there, so a company is either in the conversation or
left behind.
2. Facebook
has over 618 million daily active users. A company cannot afford to miss all
those people.
3. It
is an easy and immediate way to connect to both fans and potential customers.
4. It
is a way for companies to support their traditional marketing ventures.
5. There
is a huge benefit to having access to real-time market feedback and
intelligence. (www.splashmedia.com)
Companies should participate and socialize with their customers on social networking sites. This type of interaction allows for organizations to know exactly what customers like or dislike about their products. Todd Wasserman notes that organizations can use the following three strategies to market a brand to consumers:
1. Passion:
When companies connect their brand to the consumer’s passions and/or interests.
2. Personalities:
When companies entertain consumers with their personalities.
3. Transparency:
When companies provide interesting or important information to the consumers about
the product/brand.
However, there are some risks involved in using social media. Communication specialists always need to be professional on their social media web-sites. If communication specialists are not professional, it can cost them their jobs. They also need to be sure their personal sites and blogs are professional as well. Like it or not, what you post online can cost you your job. One journalist, Shea Allen, lost her job with WAAY for posting her top ten confessions on her personal blog. Among some of Shea Allen’s confessions, she admits to sleeping on the job, going bra-less during live broadcasts, and stealing mail and putting it back. (Eck, 2013) Once communication professionals enter the digital world, they are constantly being watched by the public and by their employers. Also, unfriending someone from your social media circle has real-life consequences. David Mielach mentions that social media users who were unfriended had a lower self-esteem, they felt unwanted, and a sense of loss of control. They were actually in a worse mood after a social media break-up. (2013) People need to be considerate of this when using professional or personal sites. Communication specialists should take the same precautions when posting on their company or organization’s web pages. For better or worse, social media has become an inescapable part of most people’s daily lives.
References:
Dynamic debates: An analysis of group polarization over time on Twitter
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/grads/y/yardi/pubs/Yardi_DynamicDebates.pdf
Facebook unfriending has consequences
http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3890-unfriend-social-media.html
How social media can make history (This is a TED Talk video)
http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html
Steal three social marketing tricks from top brands
http://mashable.com/2013/02/22/social-media-marketing-strategy/
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/waay-reporter-fired-after-posting-list-of-confessions-to-personal-blog_b98996
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