abbyjon5

[abbyjon5]

Week 8

My client can face a few challenges along the way. As it is a small business with only a few employees it will be easy to keep on the same page with goals, persona, and with the plan. But the challenge for Essa will be the time management. Making time for the social media platforms as there are many other projects going on. Luckily to prevent this from happening the small business owner created a log and has a planner to keep time allotted for social media. Once the owner stays on top of the activity on the social media platforms with effective content, engagement, and creating a sense of community Essa’s goals will be achieved.

[abbyjon5]

Hi Madison!

The strategies that you mentioned are very helpful. The small business that I've been working with is wanting to gain more customers and as a local business become more well known in the community. Using social media would be very helpful using these strategies with less confusion and more direct to get the information to the community.

Great post!

-Abigail

Week 7 Blog Post

After completing modules 3 and 4 of Hootsuite, I learned how effective content can be developed and shared. Module 3 stressed the importance of aligning your social media strategy with your organizational goals. This is how organizations make sure that their social media content is effective. For example, the company I am working on is an accounting firm. Their organizational goals revolve around gaining more clients. In order for their social media content to be effective, they must attempt to accomplish this goal through their social media posts.

Along with aligning overall strategies, content strategies are also important. Following a content strategy helps the organization keep a cohesive story behind their brand. With every post following the same strategy, consumers won’t get mixed ideas about your brand. This also helps the company focus on their specific target market and understand what is performing well.

Content calendars are another tool for developing and sharing effective content. These calendars make sure that your company is consistent with their posting schedule on different platforms. It also makes sure that your posts are well thought out and intentional. A helpful aspect of a content calendar is that you can keep track of which posts performed well and which didn’t. This helps your company tailor their content to be more engaging with their followers. 

The principles of effective content development and sharing play a major role in becoming a social organization. Once a company has an understanding on how to post effective content, they ultimately develop a larger audience that is more engaged. This type of interaction with their followers can make the company a social organization. Following the strategies I mentioned above will benefit companies in accomplishing this goal. There is a lot of strategy involved in growing your following on social media and making sure that your followers are always engaged.

[abbyjon5]

Hello!

I agree with how fast the world we are in now moves. New trends start all the time. Being a social organization it's important to keep up with the trends and maybe not all will apply to the company but knowing the trends that may apply if helpful for success.

Great post!

-Abigail

Week 7 Post

Content and it’s development is an extremely important part of any social organization’s goals and it would be very beneficial to plan and strategize on how that content is disseminated. In the content development stage, spending time on what information should be delivered to have as much of an impact on a target audience should be step one. This requires sitting down and taking into consideration all the communication or brand resources that are at the disposal of an organization and decide which is the most effective in how it is presented and if the target audience will be motivated to take action off of it. On that same note, once good content is selected and chosen to use, it is just as equally important to try and see how that content should be delivered based on how it is delivered before and new ways to deliver it so it becomes more effective.

Content delivery obviously varies depending on the medium which is being used to deliver it. There could be two identical messages but the way to go about sharing them using Twitter and Facebook is different. When delivering content certain strategies can be used to keep posts interesting and interactive. Visual content that uses basic design principles’ is an easy way to draw in a target audience and tap into the creative potential of an organization. Varying content in terms of what it includes such as questions, polls or even surveys could also be built on to increase user engagement and allows for interfacing with customers.

Becoming a social organization has everything to do with learning and using content development and delivery strategies. There are so many companies and organizations attempting to grab for everyone’s attention and it’s important to research and use the best tactics to develop captivating content and learn how to use it effectively. The world changes so fast these days and the landscape of social content and media is becoming more and more enhanced and intricate. It’s much easier to be left in the dust if an organization isn’t invested in improving their content delivery and messages.

[abbyjon5]

Week 7

After completing Hootsuite modules 3 and 4 it made me realize how much goes into social media advertising and posts. When it explained how to determine if your business is ready to start advertising on social media. I didn’t realize how it much a business should prepare as I thought of advertising differently beforehand. It recommended to put thought into the post not on that you don’t care about that will not better the company. Using clear objectives and being ready for the influx that may come from the ad before posting is important. Along with a budget, which was recommended at least $500. Ad manager could help a company keep track if the ads posted very helpful to track the success of the ad. Along with details on how ads work on each social media platform. It is very helpful to know how each channel works and what would benefit the company you plan on promoting.

A social organization the effective content, development, and sharing is what gives the business a credible reputation. It shows the employees and the customer how much the business cares for the company. Along with these principles it creates a sense of community for those who believe and support the company. When a business starts to not care on their social media channels it gives the public a sense of not wanting to support the company. Overall staying organized and manage time well becoming a social organization will benefit a business since our everyday revolves around the internet. It is a helpful tool to achieve a company’s goals.

[abbyjon5]

Hi Noah,

I completely agree with how much this week has opened to my eyes to how important communication and engagement is. Learning how the different apps advertising was interesting to learn as well. If help further verify what I recommend for my client project.

Great post!

Abigail Jones

Week 6: Blog One Post

Hello Everyone,

While completing chapters four and five in the Social Organization this week I was able to expand my knowledge on many concepts related to community building. I was able to take a deeper dive into how to form a vision for community collaboration and how to develop a strategic approach to community collaboration. I wasn’t aware of the importance of building your community and how it has such a significant impact on different organizations. Both chapters had tons of valuable and relevant information within them that will be able to apply to my client, Central Marketing Society.

After reading chapters four and five in the Social Organization I was able to learn more about effective principles on online community building with social media. It’s super important for organizations to interact and engage with their community as this helps their social media presence. My biggest takeaway from Chapter Four was the ‘Six F’ Model of Attitudes Toward Social Media. The six attitudes play a huge part in the success of your organization’s collaboration efforts. The ‘Six F’ model consists of folly, fearful, flippant, formulating, forging, and fusing. Each of these different attitudes has unique characteristics and can help organizations build their community and social media presence. My biggest takeaway from Chapter Five was the ‘No, Go, Grow’ model that is related to empowering community collaboration. The model is a way of systemically determining if and how a community collaboration effort should move forward. All three parts of the model help organizations have a deeper understanding of how their collaboration will work with the community.

After completing the Hootsuite/Podium module four I was able to learn more about concepts related to growing an online community. My biggest takeaway from the Hootsuite module this week was that it’s crucial to utilize different social media channels in different ways. All social media channels have different and unique ways for people to engage and interact with their community. It was awesome being able to take a deeper dive into the popular social media channels that are currently in our lives. I was able to apply what I’ve read and put that towards my recommendations that I have for Central Marketing Society. The main social media channels that Central Marketing Society uses consist of Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The Hootsuite module covered different features that can be used to interact and engage with your community and network. These principles apply to Central Marketing Society because I will be implementing all of these unique features within their social media channels. The organization hasn’t been utilizing all of these features which could help them with recruiting potential members and gaining traffic to their social media platform.

Thank you,

Noah Tatum

[abbyjon5]

Week 6

From reading chapter 4 and 5 in the Social Organization book, social media community collaboration is what was the most interesting to me. The importance of community engagement of is very important for a business. It increases brand awareness and overall establishes a positives reputation for the brand. The feeling of community provides a feel-good sense of supporting that business and involved in something. This helps a business stand out in compared to its competitors. This engagement on social media for the business is very beneficial as it will create loyal customers and encourages social media users to get involved. But at the same time can have downsides and backfire on the company. When done right, like Ben and Jerry’s ice cream brand does on via Instagram, the pros will way out the cons.

Hootsuite module 4 discussed in detail about the way social media channels ads work. I learned quite a lot from this. Though I know how most apps ads worked that I frequently use. It was interesting to learn about google ads and LinkedIn ads work. I never realized that Google ads are everywhere. I never put thought into why there were ads when I am reading an article or search for one item, and an ad pops up for that item. It all was full circle for me when I realized this.

[abbyjon5]

Hi Laryssa!

I agree that having the algorithms be controlled by a machine is not healthy for the users. Changing social media in a way of making it our decision in what we want to learn more of is ideal for us all. Like you mentioned that you never thought about why social media is free I can relate to it. If we can possible benefit so much off of social media why is it free? The video last week when he stated "If the product is free you are the product." Something to that extent really opened my eyes to how social media works. Change in the algorithm or perspective of the users would be very beneficial to mental health, how to use social media, and many more!\

Great Post!

Week 4 Blog 2

Reason 1: Algorithms

My opinion of algorithms are they are not very beneficial in the ways that matter most. As stated in the article “instead of promoting the free flow and exchange of ideas that is necessary for a healthy democracy, the personalization of content has created filter bubbles that limit information flows and perpetuate bias.” I think it is important for businesses and more importantly people to be aware of the fact that algorithms and how they are formed are not a result of human activity, instead they are created by machine learning models. These models improve and get better at reading us every day. Instead of humans selecting information and news that they deem important for the public to know and giving it to us, complex algorithms take on the role of that job and dictates what we see and what we don’t. I would say we can respond to these conditions by realizing that not everything we see is true and not to take everything we see online serious unless we have other sources of proof as well.

Reason 2: Advertising

This section reminded me a lot of the Social Dilemma video that we watched last week. As crazy as this sounds, I have never even thought about why social media is free before watching that video. I don’t agree with how social media platforms are built. As stated in the article we are “paying with our personal information”. This allows for fake news to go viral and turn into a bunch of clickbait. Individuals and businesses should be aware that these social sites are built around collecting their personal information and it is being strategically used to target users with manipulative messages. We should respond to this in the same way as we respond to algorithms. Don’t believe everything you see online.

Reason 3: Exposure

The third reason given as to why junk news spreads so quickly is due to exposure. What individuals are exposed to on the internet on a daily basis often is in line with their personal preferences. As stated in the article “As a result, voters do not get a representative, balanced, or accurate selection of news and information during an election, nor is the distribution of important information randomly distributed across a voting population.” As a result businesses and individuals should make notice to the fact that during times when there are things like elections individuals are only being shown advertisements/ posts that are in line with their pre-existing beliefs. Individuals should respond to this by voluntarily looking for new information that doesn’t necessarily agree with their current perspectives and preferences in order to be informed about more than just what they prefer to see.

Overall, algorithms, advertisements, and exposure should be regulated by humans as well and not just machine operated. They have affected individuals and society as a whole more than any of us even realize. Individuals should be aware of the power that these three tactics have in determining what they see on social media on a daily basis. They should respond by not being so close minded when it comes to their beliefs and what they see on social media. Instead they should look beyond their current perspectives and preferences and expose themselves to information that is new and challenges their current beliefs.

Resources

Howard, P. (2018, March 26). Three reasons junk news spreads so quickly across social media. Oxford Internet Institute. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/blog/three-reasons-junk-news-spreads-so-quickly-across-social-media/.

Orlowski, Jeff, director. The Social Dilemma, Netflix, 26 Jan. 2020.

[abbyjon5]

Hi Tommy!

Social media can be very useful as to opening career paths and new doors. Like you mentioned something about having an open mind. I would agree that social media helps you learn more about new topics or more in depth on something that you may already love. I know that with watching some live streams of creators or watching posts of educational platforms I've learned quite a bit from. With TikTok I have learned many ways to lead a healthy lifestyle in many forms with cleaning, working out, new recipes, and many other categories. Since it is a big platform recently I have learned a lot from different creators.

Great Post!

Week 4 Post #1

I think the most important qualities a social media consultant should have come down to three things: Social knowledge, adaptability, and a open mind. I believe that social knowledge is important because in order to be successful on and with social media you have to be able to know what is popular and what is not and then act on it. By doing this you are not only staying in the loop but are more likely to gain a following by staying with the trends. Adaptability in social media is what sets apart a short career or a long career, as well as short and long term success. If you are a one hit wonder or stay with your old ways when the times and trends are changing you will lose your following, you have to stay on top of your game and adapt with the media. Finally an open mind, if you go into social media and think that you way is the only way you will go no where you have to learn from others and from your success and failure and be open to change. 

I think something I would do to improve is maybe create a Tik Tok I know it is a huge platform and many have been successful through it. I so far have made an Instagram, 2 Twitters, and a Twitch were I am an affiliate and used to be quite active. In the future I should make a Tik Tok like I said and start streaming on Twitch again.

[abbyjon5]

Week 4 Post #2

I would say that this article makes very valid arguments. As recent day and age, unfortunately, many topics have become political. I know it would happen one way or another because as humans that’s how we work. On my own personal experiences, I realized that a lot of my feed was pertaining to what I believe obviously it was something I was comfortable with. I would listen to other parties’ point of view and be almost terrified due to what I thought I knew from what social media showed me. More specifically my family did not agree with one of our family members post on social media. They started becoming more and more threatening to what we believed in and made us all uncomfortable. We had family phone calls talking about it with her to get an understanding. Basically, told my grandparents that they are old anyways and they should just die if they get sick, so why get vaccinated. As this offended a good majority of my family, we had to block her from social media and not have contact with her. She was not willing to have a conversation on the mater. It is unfortunate that social media and politics cause relationships to not exist anymore.

[abbyjon5]

Week 4 Blog #1

As a social media consultant, I think you should have many skills. One of which is having a ton of knowledge on social media and their algorithms. On top of that you need to have great communication skills, problem solving skills, and many other skills that are related to being a manager. Social media has millions of users and if you want to use media to promote yourself or your business there will be a lot of people’s opinions on what you are trying to promote. What my strategy from the beginning is to stick to what you believe in at the core. There will be changes or growth added but never forget what the reason is for promoting this on social media. Not only with sticking to values creates a sense of community and loyalty to the customer. Social media is a double edge sward as we have been learning in the course. I have seen how communities feel torn apart when a company or creator does something against their values.

[abbyjon5]

Hello,

I would agree with you on being very happy I watched the documentary. It is crazy scary how much control these social media sites have on us. When the documentary stated that "there are only two industries that call their customers users: illegal drugs and software.” It was shocking. Connecting those two industries made my stomach turn. This was a great post!

WEEK 3 - Blog Post

After watching the instructors lecture and the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma I was in a lot of shock. Big data and algorithms are such powerful tools because they are constantly evolving and getting bigger and smarter. Everything from what image you stop to look at on your news feed to how long you look at the image is tracked. Then, the data that they keep from tracking our every move is used to build models of each of us in order to predict our next actions. This is possible because all of the is given to these systems that have no human supervision and can make better and better and better predictions about who we are, what we are going to do next, where we are going to go, etc. They have enough information about us to be able to dictate when people are lonely, or depressed, or whether they are an introvert or an extrovert. That is extremely powerful on a scary level. They have more information about each of us as individuals than what has ever been imagined in history.  

These things become dangerous because of how they can psychologically control you without you even realizing it. The goal of these individuals behind the software are to understand how to use the psychology of what persuades people and then build that into the technology. They’re using our psychology against us. These tactics are programmed into us at such a deep level that we don’t even realize what’s happening. With the evolving algorithms and big data, the world has shifted from using technology as a tool and instead technology is now addictive and used as a manipulation tool. They understand a part of our minds that even we don’t. These big technology companies have been able to prove that they can affect real world behavior without any of us even realizing it. In the video they made a comparison between the use of social media and slot machines in Vegas. That says it all to me.

Something that really caught my eye in The Social Dilemma documentary was a quote that came up on the screen. It said, “There are only two industries that call their customers users: illegal drugs and software.” That is when my mind shifted and started to think on a way deeper level throughout the rest of the documentary. That quote spoke volumes to me. The business models of these companies are centered around how to keep their users engaged for the longest time possible. They’re goal is not in the users’ best interest; it is in the interest of the company itself.

My views on how these problems can be dealt with on a personal, professional, and societal level are just to inform people. I think if even 30% of those who are on their phones all day were even halfway aware of the things talked about in this documentary there would be some type of change. I had no idea about a lot of the information talked about in this documentary and after learning I am definitely going to change some of my habits and think deeper about a lot of things in terms of the media. I think that if the world was more aware and there was an effective way to inform everyone of what is going on, it could help in unimaginable ways. In addition to that the people behind the making of these algorithms and big data should strive to make a change as well. To start, they should change their top three goals from engagement, growth, and advertising to something else. In addition to that, they should stop trying to manipulate us psychologically because that just seems unethical to me. Overall, I am very happy I watched this documentary because I learned a lot.

[abbyjon5]

Hello!

It is harmful how social media has so much false information. You always have to weed through what influencers or news articles are promoting false information. It is very dangerous for the viewers. As it can lead to poor mental health and many more problems. This is a great post!

Thank you.

Manipulation in Social  Media

From the documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’ we can see how harmful social media is in numerous ways. They explained how data, algorithms, and other tactics used by social media companies are continuing to become more and more accurate and how with more accuracy, they take more of our time. These social media platforms are not just for connecting with people. These companies are trying to get more of our time and data- which makes us the product being sold. The algorithms used are tailored to each individual which will make you see whatever you want to see on social media which gives you a false sense of harmony within your community. I think this is especially harmful because along with misinformation, this can lead to extremist groups to band together and cause harm. We know that diversity leads to growth and innovation, so a lack of diversity, or in this case- being surrounded by people that think exactly like you in social media communities- leads to a lack of innovation, growth, and learning.

I thought this photo was also interesting because it shows how much the amount of paid government commentators has risen over the past few years and as a result how much misinformation is circulating. 

 https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2017/manipulating-social-media-undermine-democracy

[abbyjon5]

Week 3

After this documentary I view social media differently. It makes me almost feel violated. With how simple and easy it is to scroll to keep up with friends and family. Along with how much fun I have with making posts about certain events in my life. I never think about who is making money from my activity on these applications. During the documentary when it was stated “if you are not paying for the product, you are the product.” I had to pause and think about that statement to understand what was just said and how real it is. These platforms are powerful by using simple yet addicting tactics. As it is a software that has a mind of its own and knows how to control us to make any future decisions. The software using algorithms to show ads or base suggestions off what we search and like. I have noticed this as I joke round calling it the “FBI agent” in my phone. After watching this documentary, it is quite off putting. I feel that with our society being so accepting of the new norm of social media is dangerous. I think that it is helpful to watch this documentary and be informed before creating new social media accounts. Users for these applications need to be informed on what these algorithms and data are holding on them, in the way that is easily understood. Social media can be very helpful in many ways but also can come back to haunt you.

[abbyjon5]

Hi Caitlyn!

I can relate to you on being on my phone as soon as I wake up or go to bed. I realize I wake up in such a better mood and feel productive when I don't use technology for the first 30 minutes in the morning. I think with using my phone at night I look at it as a calm down from the day. But really I find myself checking who has texted me or social media platforms to see what's happening. A lot of nights I find myself on tiktok for what I thought was only 30 minutes but actually being 2 hours. The next day I do feel the affects of minimal sleep .

Great Post!

Week 2- reflection

After completing the social media assignment as well as the experiment, I have learned quite a bit when it comes to my social media habits. For example, typically the first thing I do when I get up is check my phone, and it’s typically the last thing I do before I go to bed as well. I have challenged myself to now get up in the morning (make sure I don’t have any important messages from family to answer), but then take the morning to get up, stretch, make some coffee, do my morning routine and get ready for the day before I even touch my phone or scroll on social media. I also am challenging myself to put my phone down 30 minutes before I decide to go to bed for the night. Looking at my screen right before I close my eyes isn’t the best for me either. I am eager to read your guys’ response on this as well! 

[abbyjon5]

I feel that it is unfortunate that dealing with mental illness has became such a norm. A lot of the time it is talked about with peers around me but not everyone has that support. I don't realize how much of an effect that technology or social media has. Like how you mentioned that if the smallest icon of a notification causes anxiety then we can't image other ways technology is making us have anxiety or straining our mental health. I really like how you incorporated your own research with this post! I also can't imagine how most children feel that are on tiktok or other social media platforms. These platforms strain my mental health at times.

Great Post!

Technology and Mental Illness

Unfortunately, technology and specifically social media have close ties to mental illness. Depression, anxiety, behavior issues, etc., have all been linked to an increased use in technology which I don’t believe would come as a surprise to anyone given that it seems to be the norm in todays society to struggle with some kind of mental illness. In the clip from “We’ve Been Sneaking Into Your Brains” Max Stossel describes how something as simple as the little red notification icon on your phone is a source of anxiety, so imagine all the other ways our phones and technology can be anxiety and depression inducing. Although there are many helpful, innovative outcomes from technology, there are many harmful elements that come with it as well. In the article  “Before The Internet“ Emma Rathbone describes different scenarios in a time before the internet where you could  “move to a new state and no one at school would know anything about you“ or maybe decide to  “laze around on a park bench in Chicago reading some Dean Koontz“. In these scenarios there is a common theme of a lack of knowledge/resources but also more creativity than what is typical today. While personally, I feel as though I exercise my creativity in different ways, I do see many children that are glued to technology such as phones and ipads and I can’t help but think of how damaging it must be for them and especially their creativity. I think kids need room to imagine, and although technology provides endless technology and resources, it provides instant gratification and no room for creativity. Because of the speed at which technology progresses, there aren’t many regulations on it even though it is proven to cause health damage. I hope one day there will be more of a balance with technology.

Sources:

https://www.statista.com/chart/19262/impact-of-social-media-on-mental-health/

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/26/before-the-internet

https://vimeo.com/370135963

[abbyjon5]

Week 2: Blog Post #2

What I learned from my social media log that time could use the time on technology for other activities. I can do chores in that always need to be done. I can accomplish more schoolwork before the weekend to be able to experience more of life. I plan to do so going forward with my education. With taking more time to be productive the more I can experience fun adventure with friends and family.

This experiment with no technology opened my eyes to how much I rely on technology. I use it to “checkout” from the real world. I use music to change my mood after a bad day. I watch funny tiktoks to distract from hard situations life throws at me. I used technology to relax by watching Netflix or other tv/movie apps. I spent 6 hours of my day without technology. I used the time for selfcare. I was able to map out what I have to do for the next month. I meditated and journaled as well; these two of which I regularly do. I realized that I may have forgotten with my busy schedule but need to make sure I meditate on a regular basis. I was able to get all the chores I have been meaning to get done and off my checklist. While doing so I thought of adventures I can do this winter and local adventures I should take advantage of. There are many hiking trails I should start using. I also plan on snowboarding for the first time this winter. I do have to admit during the 6 hours it was not easy to stay away from technology. I had the urge to check the time and see if anyone was trying to contact me. Though luckily no one contacted me and if it was an emergency, I was with a close friend the whole time. Yes, they did in fact mock me the whole time as well.

[abbyjon5]

Social Media Addiction

The article Before the Internet gave me an insight to how it felt before social media or simply having a smart phone and laptop. I think back to when my mom bought the first iPhone. My brother and I were so amazed with the technology. She talked about how you would be able to start over when moving to new places with not being able to look you up and having an idea of who you are. I have moved around too many times to count in my life. The first thing that new people do is follow or friend me on social media. Sometimes feels wrong that they already found a ton of information and other times excited that I made new friends. I do miss times where I wasn’t so involved with social media, but I enjoy staying connected with those I don’t see often.

Max’s presentation was very engaging by his use in humor. I felt that I connected with many ways I used my phone he talked about. He explained how the red notifications stress us out and pull us back in to using the app. As this is so true with me waiting for a text back or if I received a text from someone from work. He also showed a video of someone photoshop a piece of pizza into a woman in a bikini. This was entertaining to watch but gave a great example as to not trusting what you see on the internet. At the end of the presentation he gave tips on what to do instead. With using your phone alarm, he suggested getting an eight dollar one off of amazon. When looking at your phone immediately in the morning you automatically go to your notifications, this is something I can agree with. I could then sit there for thirty minutes to an hour catching up on what I might have missed. Overall, I really enjoyed this presentation and considering some of my habits I have fallen into with technology.

I realize that social media influences my everyday interactions in friends, family, and any face-to-face interaction I have. I make references to viral tiktoks that then creates a connection with that person. Or I could ask is someone saw a certain post from our favorite influencer. I use snapchat to keep contact with certain close friends. With social media being easily available I notice the more I care about posts, shares, and likes. I don’t feel that I am going on social media for negative reasons. But I feel I have the addiction in the sense of it being a slot machine feeling as Max Stossel said in his presentation. I had a week where technology was taken away from me to focus on a school business project. I felt at times that I needed to connect with friends or family to get through the week. But overall, I felt amazing not looking at a screen for that time and that I had way more time to learn more about my project. I often look back at this week as a great experience. I would like to use technology more for learning or reading and have less of a negative effect social media brings. I used social media too much as it keeps me from studying or in person with family and friends.