Social Media Machine See’s it’s Reflection

Throughout the past few months i have been taking a course on Social Media, the course required for me to start a Facebook page, foursquare account, twitter account, Instagram account, and yes this WordPress account. At first i had mixed feelings thinking to myself “How hard could all this be” and now with the semester coming to an end i can say to myself and you my viewers “It’s pretty tough staying up with all the social media accounts”. For the most part WordPress and blogging were my least favorite, however as time continued my views on blogging has changed!

At first i saw blogging as nothing more than a bunch of people ranting about bullshit and crying for attention, however as i have now blogged and followed blogs i can say that it is really not that bad… In fact i am enjoying blogging!!! To me, it still is basically people ranting,however if you dig deeper you will find excellent information presented in a way that’s easy to read and quite interesting.

I was asked by my professor throughout the year if i would continue to blog and continue to tweet  after this course came to an end. And up until about October my answer was NO!”I despised twitter prior to this class” But in the past few weeks we have been able to write about things we wanted to write about not some silly topic that was assigned to us, and this is where my passion for tweeting and blogging started to grow.

Since we have been able to blog “Rant” about topics that we considered interesting my passion for this has started to grow!! Ive been refining my blogging style into a style that actually fits blogs because at first my posts looked more like a formal report of some sort! Now that i have been able to refine my blog writing i find it more comfortable to talk about, the things i wished to talk about “If that makes sense” which ironically is what we have been learning about, how social media and technology is affecting the younger generations. Although for myself i am more specifically speaking about hot it affects the mid to late 90’s babies. Everywhere i go all i see is people on their smartphones indulging in some sort of social media based application, seeing 10 year children cooped up inside on their ipads all day instead of outside playing! Let me tell you that really grinds my gears!”Refer to my other posts for more information on this”

So as this course comes to an end, I would like to thank my professor for pushing us to do our best and also for adapting parts of the course to better engage us! She has sparked a fire in me that will continue to grow! This whole social media machine is about to ramp up into full gear as i continue to blog,tweet,post, etc even after this course comes to and end! I now see the good impact social media can have in bringing people together in order to be the change we want to see in society!

Please check out my Podcast for more on the Social Media Machine

Step your Game Up!

In today’s age business practices have evolved and continue to evolve as technology is consistently  changing, one of the main practices that has evolved rapidly is that of marketing. Marketing your business today is not how it used to be, although the good old fashion advertising methods are still used and available, with technology literally at everyone’s finger tips now you can market your business/product to millions instantaneously with the click of a button…. and for FREE!! Facebook,Vine,Instagram, LinkedIn, Foursquare, MySpace, Tumbler ,Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ just to name a few are all great ways to market your business for FREE and will instantly help with brand recognition, Sales, and will also provide valuable customer feedback.

Although these many social networking sites are available to just about everyone, businesses still seem to be missing out on the opportunity to utilize such a great and effective marketing/promotion tool. Randy Milanovic of www.kayakonlinemarketing.com has recently wrote a short article titled “What’s Holding You Back From Online Marketing Success” that points out five main reasons why he thinks some are holding back from online marketing. The first bulletin he listed states “They don’t understand online marketing.” and personally, i feel this is the biggest problem/obstacle businesses face in starting an online marketing campaign. Randy continues on to say “To some, the process of online marketing can seem daunting, or even overwhelming.” which to me is the only reason people don’t develop their online marketing strategies, this is because they feel incompetent about their skills and understanding of online marketing.

The Social Media Machine may look/sound intimidating however with all the information available on the internet this should not be an excuse for anyone to miss out on the great opportunities Social Media has to promote,develop,and market their businesses and products! There are countless How-to videos and endless step by step write-ups on how to go about implementing an online marketing campaign. These helpful links can be easily googled and understood by even the most incompetent of business professionals!!

I challenge Business owners to teach themselves how to successfully design,build, and carry out an online marketing campaign!

Sources:
Milanovic, Randy. “What’s Holding You Back From Online Marketing Success?” RSS. Social Media Today, 6 Dec. 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.

Can You Put It Down?

    In this day and age it deeply disturbs me to think that children sit inside and stare at some kind of electronic device, whether it’s a tablet, cell phone or laptop they spend hours upon hours inside, not being active and most importantly not gaining the valuable moments that childhood has to offer. If you are a parent you should be setting limits to the amount of time your child can use such technology, not only the time but when and where they can use it. Personally I don’t believe that a child should even have a cell phone until their mid teens. However this just may be because I and probably most of you have grown up in a time without all this technology.

    By now you all know that Social Media is becoming a severe problem! I cannot remember the last time I was at a family function or just hanging out with friends and not witnessing someone being completely oblivious to their surrounding because they were on some form of social media. Quite frankly I find it extremely rude to be on your phone checking your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc while in the company of others. So for this holiday season I am going to be leaving my phone home during thanksgiving in order to be fully engaged with family and friends. Not only will I leave my phone home and avoid social media on the day of thanks, I will be asking all my family members as well to turn their electronic devises off as well. My hope is that we can all sit and eat dinner without anyone staring at their phone or Instagramming pictures of the dinner “instead of enjoying it”.

So for my readers I would also like to ask you to do the same, leave your phone home or turn it off for the day of thanks and enjoy the precious moments with friends and family. Better yet if you want to take it to another level see how long you can go without some form of social media. Get back to me and let me know what happens!

And don’t forget to check us out on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
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On behalf of Living in the Media I want to wish all the readers a Very Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Sharing Ourselves to Death?

Sharing Ourselves to Death?.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA MACHINE REVOLUTION

        

    Social media has had a profound influence in every single person’s life, whether they notice it or not. Social media has enabled people to connect with each other in a way never thought possible, not only has it allowed people to communicate instantly with one another it has given them an outlet to directly communicate with billions of people throughout the world. This has given people the unique opportunity to voice their comments, questions, concerns or whatever else it is they have to say to billions of people almost instantaneously! This has undoubtedly changed a lot of things in our lives, however it has also allowed people with the same ideology’s to connect and form groups or movements making it easier to protest on a massive scale. I believe that networking through social media platforms like twitter and Facebook will be the forefront for social political movements and it gives the people the ability to FORCE some serious changes in politics.

            Before the internet people would use the radio or televisions as a way to communicate messages or news, but since the integration of Social media networking, news and other current events spread like wildfires throughout the world. This allows people to voice their opinion and to confide in others that share the same views, connecting these people for a purpose in this case political ideology. In 2001 Philippine President Joseph Estrada went on trial to be impeached, however partisans to Estrada in the Filipino Congress voted to dismiss crucial evidence against him ultimately setting the path for his freedom. A few hours after the announcement to dismiss the evidence, Filipinos took to the streets in outrage that their crooked president was about to get off the hook Scott free. The protest was organized mostly by forwarding text messages that read, “Go 2 EDSA. Wear blk.”. EDSA is short for Epifanio de los Santos Avenue which is the location of a major intersection in Manila. Within days millions of angry citizen have crowed downtown area, jamming traffic and disrupting businesses. The enormous and hasty response shook the country’s legislators so much so that they were forced to allow the dismissed evidence to be admitted into the trial. This event is significant because it was the first time Social media was used to help force a national leader out of his position, and is a perfect example of the public using Social Media to incite revolution and political change.

Protesting has taken on a whole new form since the generation of social media. Since the dawn of the social media machine protests can be organized and implemented within hours, getting the message across to millions of like-minded people promptly and bringing them together quickly to provoke political and or civil changes. This is rapidly becoming the most effective way to mobilize the public as one to fight for a common goal, and it is my opinion the best possible method to utilize in order to encourage the type of worldwide governmental change that’s needed to solidify our planets wellbeing and to sustain the human race. Actor Russell Brand in an interview with Jeremy Paxman was asked to explain why anybody should pay attention to a guy’s political ideology who has not once voted in his life? Russell goes onto rant about how their just isn’t anyone he feels worth voting for, mainly because he doesn’t like the way the current governmental system is set up and in effect is only designed to enhance the life of a few people. Russell states their needs to be a revolution, saying “A movement for the people, by the people, in the service of the land.“ insinuating that we all need come together to better the people and mother earth instead of falling into the continuous trend of voting for people who do nothing but lie and use politics to better themselves.

I fully agree with Russell on his ideology, and the only reason I know what his thoughts are is because of social media, this is just a small yet very powerful example of how social media can be used to change the course of politics. Philippine President Joseph Estrada is yet another fine example of Social Media initiating and contributing to the political change. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Word press these are just some of the social media platforms we the public need to utilize in order to voice our opinions, concerns, comments and to come together to force the types of changes that are needed in today’s societies in order to better ourselves and to better the earth and most importantly preserve our world for future generations. They are the stepping stones to a brighter future where the people take charge and where nonviolent civil disobedience through social networking will allow the public to overthrow any inert governing force that has the audacity to steal, lie, and or murder their peoples. How will YOU use Social Media is better mankind for the future?

Russels Interview

 

SOURCES:

Brand, Russell. “Russell Brand on Revolution: “We No Longer Have the Luxury of Tradition”” Russell Brand on Revolution: “We No Longer Have the Luxury of Tradition” Newstatesman, 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.

Shirky, Clay. “The Political Power of Social Media.” Global. Foreign Affairs, Jan.-Feb. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.

Fine, Bob. “How Social Media Has Changed Politics: It’s Not Just Tactics – The Social Media Monthly.” The Social Media Monthly. The Social Media Monthly, 18 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.

The Social Media Machine changing your Workplace?

Business and Social Media go together like white on rice. Although social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are very beneficial to businesses it also has it’s down sides. Privacy, Security, and harassment are all concerns when implementing Social media into a workplace environment for both the businesses and workers involved.

Many organizations use Social media both internally and externally within the company to engage in some form of business with others across the world, or use Social networking to keep employees up to speed on what’s going on within the company. Utilizing social media networks to conduct business throughout the world can simplify and even expand your current operations; however using social media internally within a company to communicate with employees could come with some complications.

An ongoing study titled Digital Work Life, conducted by AVG Technologies Digital Diaries project looks at cyber-bullying in the workplace. The study found that Cyber-Bullying is becoming an epidemic within the workplace and concluded that “More than half of adults (53 percent) that participated in our survey believe privacy in the workplace has been eroded with the proliferation of social media”. Although these numbers are staggering, I coincide with what AVG’s Senior Security Evangelist, Tony Anscombe says “This study highlights the need for a combination of greater education around social media alongside increased attention and care by both employees and employers to their social media etiquette at work.” Meaning that with the incorporation of social media into the workplace, additional measures such as educating employees about what constitutes appropriate/inappropriate ways of using social media is a necessary.

In this day and age belonging to a social media platform is an overall must-have for any serious enterprise or entrepreneur. I firmly believe that social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are essential tools for marketing products/services and connecting businesses with countless clients. When a company integrates with a social media platform many guidelines need to be established on employee conduct, this is for the benefit of the employee and the company. Tony Anscombe once said “Until everyone is clear about exactly what is and isn’t acceptable online behavior, trying to enforce policies will just fail, leaving the door open to cyber-bullying and invasion of privacy.” Nevertheless as an employer, it is your responsibility to educate your employee’s making sure they fully comprehend the expectations that have been set concerning Social Media usage in and outside of the workplace. As an employee are you in-tune with the expectations concerning social media set forth by your employer?

Sources:

Garner, James. “Workers Feel Social Media Is Eroding Workplace Privacy.” Web log post. Workers Feel Social Media Is Eroding Workplace Privacy. AVG Officia Blogs, Jan.-Feb. 2013. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.

AVG Technologies. “Social Media Stokes Workplace Privacy Fears.” Yahoo Finance. Finance.yahoo.com, 31 Jan. 2013. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.

Collinson, Lauren. “Social Media and the Workplace – To Be or Not to Be?” The Business Monthly RSS. .bizmonthly.com, 4 Mar. 2011. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.

Social Media Machine Destroying Human Emotions

       When I was growing up I could remember playing outside all day with the neighborhood kids, this is how I’ve built friendships that to this day are going strong. These face to face interactions, in my belief have helped shaped my personality as well as my values and beliefs overall shaping me into the person I am today! I can guarantee that most of you reading this would agree that’s probably how you remember growing up and forming friendships and sharing values etc. However today the youth is more concerned with their digital image rather than how they present themselves in person, Friendships and relationships revolve around a screen and some words, sometimes for millions to see.

       This radical change in communication could have a negative effect on today’s youth. Danika Roberts, a Mental Health Clinical Supervisor says  “Whether you’re male or female, it can affect you in different ways but it’s a huge impact on the decisions our youth are making,”  In an article published on the KLEWTV website called “Social Media and Our Youth Findings.” by Veronica Miracle. I am a in what I believe to be the last generation that will have a normal childhood, by this I mean playing outside, forming friends through face to face interactions etc. The children nowadays form their relationships mainly thru text messages and social media networking, making them “popular” by how many friends like a photo of theirs, or status update. Instead of having to ask a girl out face to face kids these days do it over some form of digital media, and That’s is just lame.

Photo: Jeff Gross/ Getty Images

Although social media is changing the ways we relate to one another even adults must be weary.  The internet allows you to hide behind a screen and pretend to be anyone you want, allowing people with good intentions to become “Catfished” by others. Even celebrities have been fooled by cyber relationships; one celebrity duped by social media relationships is Manti Te’o. Manti built a relationship with a woman named “Lennay,Kekua” thru the use of social media. However   “Lennay Kekua, never existed, despite the fact that the two   exchanged countless messages over the Internet, reportedly spoke for hours on the telephone and supposedly even met.” Said Montgomery, James in his article “Manti Te’o Hoax: ‘Catfish’ Star Nev Schulman Weighs In.”.

So is social media having a negative impact on today’s youth? Unfortunately there is not enough evidence to make that determination at this time because the social media machine has evolved so quickly that the long term effects for emotional development and interpersonal relationships upon our youth are just not known.

Sources:

Montgomery, James. “Manti Te’o Hoax: ‘Catfish’ Star Nev Schulman Weighs In.” – Music, Celebrity, Artist News. MTV Logo: ©2013 Viacom International Inc, 06 Jan. 2013. Web. 01 Oct. 2013.

Miracle, Veronica. “Social Media and Our Youth Findings.” KLEW News. http://www.klewtv.com/, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 01 Oct. 2013.