Guest Speaker (S. McFarland)

Tonight we had a special guest speaker, Sara McFarland, who was a Google Certified teacher. I really enjoyed her presentation and the activities she had the class work on. This speaker really brought into perspective the power of social media when it comes to the real world. The thing that stood out for me the most was the work atmosphere at Google. This is totally different then any other work environment that I have experienced. After watching that video, I wish more work places took on a more collaborative approach when it comes to work. Also, I really enjoyed the speaker because her presentation showed actual jobs that are out there for our major.   

iContact

Well I just received my iContact e-mail from the professor and I like the layout of the e-mail. I thinking it was just going to be a basic text e-mail. I can see how this would be useful for businesses to stay in contact with their customers and let them know about special deals that the company is offering. With that said, I see the point for a service like this, but it can be really over used. I currently have 3 to 4 e-mails that come to me every week with special offers that constantly clog up mail in box. I mean, how many times can you receive offers on 20% off of clothes and other items. This would not be so bad if the e-mails came once a month or every couple of months. Do any other people feel this way?

Analytics

Tonight in class we discussed analytics and what this means to the world of social media and business. I believe this is a smart tool for companies to use to better understand their customer’s wants and needs with their company. As more companies use analytics, the consumer experience will become even more personalized then it already is. This tool will allow companies large and small the ability to tweak their message so it can be heard by the largest number of people. This is great for non-profit organizations and public service parts of the government. Unfortunately, the bright side to analytics has an even darker side. At the beginning of the class I was all for the analytics being used to analysis peoples habits on website traffic and other things of that nature. By the end of the class I was not so excited by the thought of companies complying large amounts of data on my habits. The video of the US Bank sticks in my mind the most about tonight’s class. The only thing I kept thinking was I would have been really pissed if my bank called me out of the blue about moving my money out of the bank. I believe what I do with my money is my business and no one else’s. I would have not been a success story for that bank and I don’t think I would be the exception. I kind of feel it is an invasion of my personal privacy and that the bank over stepped its bounds. I believe one day this idea of mining analytics will be under investigation of personal privacy. Where do we draw the line on what information is not too personal to share? I don’t know… maybe I am crazy? What are your thoughts?

How Secure are You?

Yesterday in class we talked about privacy and security when it came to the Internet. I knew a lot about this subject already when I came into this class. I did learn a lot of information I was not aware of about privacy and security on the internet that I did not know, as well. The fact that there was a difference from “http” and “https” was shocking to me. I had no idea that this little heading that comes before site addresses meant secure or non-secure serves. Along with that, I had no idea I was leaving myself open for hacking every time I logged into my Facebook or Myspace accounts. Another item I was unaware of was that every time you send an e-mail out you send out your IP address along with it. This was not common knowledge as far as I am concerned and it makes you think twice who you correspond with on the internet. These ideas make me think twice on what I do with my time on the internet. Also, what your family, friends, and children are accessing through your laptop or PC.

Social Media and Democracy

Last class we had an interesting conversation about social media and democracy. I do see how these new avenues to communicate with social groups with the same interests will have affects on how the world works. These social sites will defiantly level the playing field for the small individual person. Unfortunately, there are draw backs to this new democracy. The major drawback that keeps sticking in my mind is the lack of central leadership. Of course, these avenues will allow people to mobilize faster in ever growing groups, but mobilize to where? And once there, what happens next? The lack of centralized leadership is a major weakness of these movements. Especially when you talk about major social movements, that need months even years of constant pressure to create that change.

Chris Brown and the Power of Social Media

So I am sure everyone has read, heard, and or talked about the Chris Brown incident on the morning show about a week ago. The reason I bring this story up, is that there was a lot of stories in the media about the uproar over his attitude and actions on that show. Along with that, there was even more stories about the uproar on the social media sites over Chris Brown and his upcoming performance on DWTS (Dancing with the Stars). The brief version of the uproar was, no one wanted DWTS to allow Chris Brown to perform on the DWTS show. With all of the stories in the news about the negative press on the social sites, I thought for sure Chris Brown wouldn't be allowed to perform. Brown was eventually allowed to perform on the show.
This is a good example of the power of social media and the possible effects it has on media. What are some of your thoughts on the social media and its affect on media?

Social Media and the End of Gender

This week I think I want to blog about the video we watched in class last night. In a way, I want to clear the air about my feelings on this subject. First, I do believe women are becoming a greater source of consumer power and a greater influence on media in this decade then in passed decades. Also, I believe a lot of media will change when it comes to mass media and the images that we see everyday. (That always happens) With that, I also believe that the way current media groups try to place people in certain groups or categories will change as well and needs to change. I believe the media will become even more personalized for each individual consumer. Unfortunately, I don’t think there will be this vast and sudden change in media and how we sell to certain demo graphics. This will instead be a gradual change, but I do admit it will happen faster then any other change we have seen in the past. I also believe that the objectification of certain groups, like women, will die hard and not go away as easily as the video projected. Many people have had these stereo types drilled into them so well that most don’t even know that they are stereo types.

I am excited to see the changes coming up in media and the world in general. I think these changes will come fast and hard, but some of the old school ways of thought will die a slow death.

Social Media Coming of Age Article

    I read this article this week and found it very relevant to the time we are living in. I believe we don’t really realize the power social media is having on the younger generation and the world for that matter. I see many more people looking towards alternate avenues to get their daily dose of news, weather it be social networking sites, internet news, blogs, online articles, or even as this article suggested Twitter and Facebook. (Facebook and Google are taking over the world.. jk) I know I look even more towards the internet than ever before to get my news. Sometimes the only reason I know something has happened is because I saw it on the main page of Yahoo where they have that rotating series of news articles. Why is society leaving the traditional forms of media and news? I am not going to act like I know every reason, but I do think one reason is young people want a more personalized news source. Young people like the fact that they themselves can respond, influence, or even create the news to get their story and voices heard. We see this in this news article and others like it around the world. I believe it is a great thing, but like any great thing it does have drawbacks. One major draw back I see is their maybe no checks or balances on the validity of the story being told. This can be very dangerous for people who don’t regularly check the sources of the media and news they consume. Does anyone else see this as a problem or a blessing? Let me know.

Cyber vs. Real

    So today in class we talked about Cyber communities and specifically Second Life. I am really intrigued about the possibilities that this new world holds, but at the same time I can see the problems with it as well. First, I think that the possibilities of e-commerce is huge in this new reality. Also, I believe it would be a cool way to view the web. Instead of viewing these flat one dimensional pages it would actually be cool if it were a world you could step into and explore. Along with that you could bring on a new level of interaction among different people around the world. I eventually could see this world like the movie "Matrix", where people feel like they are traveling to the place they study or that they are interested in. On the other hand as I stated in class last night, this would bring up obvious problems and problems that are not so obvious. Some of the obvious problems is the lack of real social interaction and physical activity for those engaged in this new world. This could lead to serious health and social problems. Another problem that was touched upon in class was the wrong behavior many users engage in while in those virtual worlds. Some of these bad behaviors are murdering, stealing, and assaulting. The one that bothers me the most is assault. I see eventually the lines between the cyber and real world will eventually blur. The more someone is wired into this world the more they will be open to be exploited and abused. 

Blog 1 - Difference between Social Media and Social Networking

Well, I will start with what I believe is the easier of the two to answer. Social networking is a group of individuals that have something in common with one another, such as, friends, family, co-workers, etc. These people use social technology platforms like twitter and Facebook to communicate with one another. This communication among these people create a network that people can find out about one another and share feelings, ideas, lives, etc. Now, I believe social media is ideas and products companies try to sell on these networks. Companies use social media on these network platforms to engage individuals with their products and ideas they think the person may be interested in.