michaelawerner

[michaelawerner]

Implementation

After viewing the video on implementation, it came up that my client has some challenges that may come up. She is a small business that has no other employees. There is no one else to help her run the social media and make sure everything is staying up to date.

On top of lack of employees, being a small business there is sometimes a lack of resources. Time is money and there is not always a lot of that. We are making sure that whatever recommendations I have given that it is all reasonable to the amount of time that it will take.

It is scary for someone to start adding new ideas to what they are already doing. There is a learning curve to new platforms, which is uncomfortable. We are trying to make sure it is a slow transition to avoid being overwhelmed. The more she can learn about the platforms she is using, the more we can add more. We are building confidence in each post, so that one day she can continue adding more variety into what she is already doing.

[michaelawerner]

Effective Content

To be successful in your social media, it is necessary to produce effective content. It is hard to establish how to get there though. Creating a roadmap from point a to point b is the most useful when learning how to establish the effective content in your routine. The roadmap will set exactly how the community can grow and evolve.

Often when people are trying to figure out what they want for their company's social media, they don't always look at the full picture. The roadmap allows someone to make sure nothing is missed. It will include preparation, their defined community, brainstorming, evaluating and organization, and documenting it all. Making sure everything is documented will allow several individuals know the plan and be able to act on it, even if they are not the one with the ideas.

The idea of becoming a socially organization is directly linked to effective content. A business will increase their intended target when truly defining their community. It can increase engagement and interaction within your social media. While, there are very specific guidelines that should be followed to protect yourself, it can be very rewarding. The new opportunities a social organization is able to have is something that is truly unique to only this.

[michaelawerner]

Online Community

A sense of community is what mean people are searching for. This is why it is so important for brands to create a community. People will lean towards these groups as someone to connect with and socialize with.

The book, it shares again and again how we need to strive to create a warm welcoming community for our current clients and future clients. It gives people a sense of the brand being more personable in the sense of being able to connect on another level. So many brands do this without us truly realizing it. Like we learn in module 4 of Hootsuite, a simple hashtag can give a platform for the community.to congregate to. A hashtag on any of the main social media platforms takes a person to a separate page that will show the posts that have bought into the same service/product. There, people are able to read others' experiences and share their own. If you go to any business you will be able to find a hashtag that links their posts together. For instance, on Instagram American Eagle is currently using the hashtag "#AEmademebuyit", which their ambassadors and their own company page are using.

This sense of community is something ty is something that all brands should aim to achieve no matter their size. My client, being a very small brand can use a simple hashtag to link all of their work so others can see what kind of work they do. The more of a community people see they have, the more they will want to be a part of it. It can be a true selling point.

[michaelawerner]

Surveillance and Data Gathering

Both Maciej Ceglowski's talk and the article, "The Internet's Original Sin", have made me so much more aware of what is going on with surveillance and data gathering. So many people are feeding into it with every move they make on the internet, but are just not aware of it. Companies are using this information for their benefit, but at what point do they cross a line?

Advertising is meant to take our attention to persuade us to a certain product or service. While a consumer is looking and interacting with that advertisement there is so much more happening behind it. While so much of this began with good intentions, now it has gone so far away from the consumer being the priority. This is something that is constantly happening and has been for so long now, but there is no end in the future.

So many of us have given consent to this, but don't really realize that we did. The only way we are going to start seeing some type of change would have to be through some regulations or laws to prevent different social media platforms and companies to not allow this. This can help, but will not be the end of it. Too often we think a certain ad or post popping up is a coincidence, but it was actually planted there. We are being controlled on the internet without even putting much thought into it.

I do think there needs to be a change, but I don't think it is going to be something that will happen any time soon. The more this information gets out, the more people will be advocating to protect our privacy.

[michaelawerner]

Social Media Consultant

A social media consultant should obtain an array of different qualities to do the best possible job. The top three I believe would need to be creative, up on trends of social media, and finally, have strong attention to detail. Someone who is creative will be able to produce out-of-the-box content for their clients, something no one has seen yet. Most clients are looking for a way they can stand out. Social media is always changing. Whether that is from new platforms to new ways people are coming up to post the content. Attention to detail is also very necessary. When something is missed in the smallest area of either a post or the missing post, people get upset. A social media consultant must be on top of this and avoid conflict.

As a social media consultant myself, I would need to make my presence different. For my own current social media, I will need to create a more professional one that is used purely for my professional life. Currently, my social media is more for personal use. It would be difficult to combine the two of them together. While all I have is personal, I have made sure it is appropriate and clean. I do not post much on my own social media, which is not a good look when telling my clients that they need to. I would need to apply some of my advice to clients and add it to my own social media. I can make more goals for myself and put them into action. The best way to prove you are the best for the job as a social media consultant is to have a strong social media.

[michaelawerner]

The Privacy in Social Media

Every single thing we do on our social media apps, is monitored. Behind the scenes, AI has learned more about us than most really realize. We see how prominent it is in the movie, The Social Dilemma.

The algorithms have followed our every move and know what we want or what we are going to do before we even really know it. Before we can decide this, we get a prompt to keep us going through the rabbit holes. Something about this just doesn't feel right. Many of us can agree that there many times we engage in these apps by something AI sent to us. What seemed alarming right off the bat from the movie was the fact all these employed individuals of different social media platforms seemed very hesitant to talk about what is really happening. It just showed there is so much more to each notification we receive. On top of that, most left because they did not agree with the ethics behind what was going on. AI is forcing these emotions onto people without any type of consent or hidden consent that many do not know about. We see the effect it is having on people, especially on young kids and young adults; the addiction through the phone or even just emotionally drained from these social media platform.

Personally, being aware of this issue is big in itself. It can me protect myself in behaviors and different habits I may have. Primarily, I can take steps to not allow different sharing of data or preventing these different apps to send me alerts. Denying the alerts will be one way I can stay off of the app and be unaware of what is trying to take my time. Professionally, this is something that can be thought about when entering whatever career I go into. There will be the balance of ethically or not when this type of thing is brought up at a job.

[michaelawerner]

The Impact of Social Media

Looking at my statistics of my use of social media seemed slightly alarming. At the same time, it was amazing seeing how much I connect with friends and family from all over.

Throughout this experience it has made me want to live in the moment more, than spending my time scrolling through different apps. I noticed myself waking up in the morning and the first thing I would do is start scrolling on social media. When I find myself not knowing what to do, I will just scroll on social media. Then when I go to bed, I scroll through social media until I get tired enough.

There is so much time spent on our phones, when this time could be spent doing so much more. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with indulging ourselves in our phone from time to time during the day. It is a great way to connect with people, that you may not have another way of connecting with. Some use social media as a way to keep up with what is happening around the world. There are great benefits, but it can quickly become a problem when not used correctly.

The most alarming result from the experiment, was how many times a device interrupted my human-to-human connections throughout my day. Total from either myself or the ones I was talking to, 42 times we were distracted by a notification or just the urge to look at our phone. This to me, was the biggest result that made me rethink what I do in a day.

This experiment is helpful in the sense of being aware of what we do with our time and how productive we are. As stated before, there is nothing wrong with taking some me time and relaxing on the phone. I find this experiment is helping me discover at what point is the phone being too much.

[michaelawerner]

Life without Social Media

Life without social media is something most, if not all, have not experienced in quite some time. Most of our days are influenced by social media: what we eat in the morning, what we wear, or our decisions of where we want to go. Social media is full of "ideas" that have impacted every aspect of our life.

There are times I wish social media was not a thing. It causes me to compare myself to others, not just how I look but my entire life. Little did I know as a young girl before, that most of what I saw was "a highlight reel". The way social media consumes so much of my daily life is something I am not proud of. When I got out of class, I checked what had happened during that time. When I am bored, I will scroll through any and all social media. Before I go to bed, I check to see if anything happened before I fall asleep. The internet has made so many things possible, but now we all are needing to learn when it is too much.

Growing up in the UP, service was hard to get. If you were traveling from place to place, odds are you did not get the internet. Especially when I was younger, I struggled. I did not want to be left out of something, because of not knowing what was going on. Now looking back, I see how this may have actually helped me. I would have time in the car to socialize with friends or family that I may have not done if I had the internet. In a way, the internet is killing some relationships, while strengthening those far away from us.

In Max Stossels's talk, I took lots of interest in the idea of turning off all notifications that are not coming directly from a person. In fact, I did this immediately. I look forward to seeing if this will contribute to less time on my phone and getting distracted less. There is something more valuable about living in the moment, rather than making sure it is documented for everyone to see.

[michaelawerner]

Welcome!

Hi everyone! My name is Michaela Werner and I am a senior at Central Michigan University, graduating in May (!!). I am studying Accounting and getting a minor in Information Systems.

I am from a small town in Michigan's upper peninsula, Munising. I love being home especially since it is right on lake superior. There is nothing better than spending the warm days on the lake and ending it with the beautiful sunsets we get there.

Currently, most of my time is spent with school and work. When I do get some time outside of those, I love to spend time with family and friends. I especially love to spend time with my golden doodle, Murphie!

There are so many companies that are nailing it with their social media. In the past few years, there has been so much more inclusiveness and variety when it comes to their social media content. Lululemon (https://www.instagram.com/lululemon/?hl=en) is a brand that has created a focus on wellness and portrays that on all social media platforms. I can't wait to explore more brands, small and big, and see how they are able to do some much for themselves through their social media!