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Client Recommendations & Implementations

Over the course of the semester, we have worked hard at establishing a plan for our businesses we have been working with. We have analyzed, evaluated, critiqued, and provided tips and recommendations on how the business could be a successful social organization. Now that we have done our job, it is time for the business to take control and implement these business strategies that we have provided for them. 

Giving the recommendations is the easy part; the hard part is implementing them. In our class lecture. my professor wrote: “Social Media initiatives fail most frequently because organizations focus on the technologies when they should focus instead on achieving a purpose through collective behaviors that those technologies make possible.” My client knows that they need to create a Facebook, create a Twitter, and make posts that are appealing to an audience, but do they know “how” to? Do they know how to use and implement their resources without just focusing on the use of technology? This would be a concern when starting to run a social media organization because many people just “use” the technology and make an appearance, they don’t utilize it. 

Another point that we discuss in our lecture is “businesses fail because they lack knowledge of the fundamental principles of mass collaboration.” This is a very good point! If we don’t explain to our client what mass collaboration is and why it is important, how can we expect them to be successful when using our strategies? When writing our memos to our clients, I propose that we send along a draft that describes what mass collaboration and why their strategy must follow it. Every business that uses social media should begin planning their social media success based upon mass collaboration. 

It has been great working and sharing thoughts and ideas with each of you! I wish you all the best of luck during the rest of the semester. Good luck and have a great spring break! 

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Effective Social Media Content

The subject of this week’s blog post is to discuss effective social media content. To be effective on social media, you need to post relevant information. Nobody cares about things that aren’t relevant or interesting to them. It’s a businesses job to stay informed and up to date about what their readers are interested in. This requires you or your business to conduct research and analysis to know how to please the audience. You must also research your target audiences and establish your strategy and goals. 

 A key concept in social media content, is to make posts that are appealing to the audience. As mentioned before, if one doesn’t find a post relevant to them, they are most likely going to keep scrolling and skip over the content you posted. You want your posts to have catchy phases, and to be colorful, so the reader engages and wants to read the post.

Facebook has a unique feature that allows media to be shared in a very fast and effective way. The “Share” option allows users to share anything and everything to their newsfeed. Posts can have thousands of shares within minutes, which makes the power of social media insanely effective. As long as your posts are effective to the eye, the audience, and the content is relevant, you will go a long way with sharing your social media content. Below is a chart that I found to be very useful. The most common social media content is displayed by either effective or noneffective in this chart. 

Your company or business and the different and unique qualities that the posts have, is what forms your social organization. A social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and social groups. Through relevant posts and content, you can build relationships and a community that is engaging and satisfied with your content and strategies. When your social media goals are performed well, your social organization is established and successful.

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Online Communities

In a world where technology is constantly changing, advancing, and growing every day, businesses need to learn to use and expand their social media usage to keep up with new marketing trends. When building an online community, it is important to note that you must identify the correct type of audience (your target audience). The business will also want to understand and demonstrate the goals and culture that they want to collaborate within. These attributes add value to the company and what they are presenting to the community. For example, Social Media Use 2018 is an article that talks about the most popular social media platforms in 2018. It talks about the age groups that use them and the reasons why these sites are so popular. These websites are obviously doing something right within their social media community to have such a strong relationship with people all over the world. 

The Hootsuite modules discuss how to grow an online community and gain positive social media interactions. It is important to gain the interest of users and build relationships with them that involve engaging, listening, and staying connected. To build a strong social media presence, you must be loyal and engaged. Audiences need to be attracted to what you have to offer, and they need to have easy access to what you are offering. An online community for the client that I have been working with is very important. I have been working with a local accounting firm that needs a jump start on their social media presence. They do not have a strong social media community and therefore, are not very popular and do not engage with their clients or customers at all. They are currently working on this though, as well as working on engaging and interacting with their followers to start gaining respect and a bigger social media presence.  

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“The Legal Side of Big Data”

Through out my blog, I have shared with you the ideas, thoughts, and opinions about big data. Now, it’s time to discuss the legal factors pertaining to big data. We’ve all heard about the Target scandal that LaLone mentions. We’ve seen situations like this over and over again. Remember hearing of the scandals that were occurring with people hacking credit cards that were used at gas pumps? Even though people knew about this occurring, they still use their cards at the pumps. Instead of walking into the store, people are still swiping their cards and being at a higher risk of being hacked. Hacking is so very common in todays world. We make it extremely easy for people to hack our data because we are so willing to give it out. 

Most of us have had backgrounds checks; this is a form of big data from a legal standpoint. To get the good job, you have to be willing to hand out your information. According to LaLone, he believes that the government has not protected our assets enough, due to so much of our data being stolen or sold on the black market. The example that LaLone uses to show how he can have his CIA’s investigate the finger prints on the cup was crazy. It just goes to show that you can get information, literally at the snap of your fingers. Like he mentioned, he could save that information about someone forever, even if it was deleted. Another example of sharing big data occurs when companies sell to another company, they are selling your data along with the company. When entering into an agreement, the legal solution would be to make sure you know the agreement that you are getting yourself into. That way you know exactly what is going to happen to your data. Our data travels all over the world and it’s our job to make sure that we are paying attention and trying our best to maintain it. Of course big data has it’s’ perks and can be helpful, but it’s our job to maintain it the best we can and know what data we are sharing. 

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Media Consultants

I believe that a social media consultant should have many special qualities. The most important being, reliability. I would want someone that I could trust and rely on to help me make good choices, since everyone in the world can see who I am and what I am about. I think that if you consult with someone who is realistic with you and realistic with themselves and their ideas, then it’s a “win win” for everyone. If you can’t trust someone, then you can’t work with them and be successful. I think a media consultant should also be someone that keeps me in tact and on track. I would want them to be honest with me and help provide me with logical thoughts and ideas. 

If I were acting as a consultant to myself, I would want to develop a plan right from the beginning. I would first start with reviewing and analyzing all of the areas that I am present on social media and see what I do right and what I do wrong. That would be me being honest and realistic with myself, qualities that I mentioned above. I would advise myself to first, delete some friends on Facebook that could affect my career and save myself the embarrassment. Employers do look at your friends list, and there are a few people that I do not want my employers thinking that I am associated with anyone. That’s harsh, but that’s just reality. I would also advise myself to be more interactive on my linkedin account, since employers see this account and pay close attention to it.

So far, I have monitored everything that I share, post, and like on my social media pages. I do not want my employers seeing my drunken nights, or my personal feelings and situations. I don’t want anyone seeing these things, actually, so I feel that it’s important to keep it offline because you never know who is watching. I am very careful about what I put or say on social media, and I think that is very important. In the future, I could work ever harder, and try to not post at all on social media and avoid being judged altogether. I could also keep up with this professional blog and keep employers informed about the good things that I am doing with my life. 

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Junk News

Social media has now become the new hot spot for “junk news.” There are three main reasons that Philip Howard and Samantha Bradshaw discussed about fake news being so popular in their article called, “Three reasons junk new spreads so quickly across social media.” The first is algorithms. Without algorithms, we would have to do extensive searches through massive amounts of information. Algorithms are used to gather and sort media, sort of like big data. When we type something into a google search and see it appear a few moments later on our Facebook feed, that is an example of algorithms doing their job. The calculations are being used for us to see the latest news and trends and anything else that is relevant to us. 

The second reason is advertising. Advertising is a huge way to spread fake junk news. Social media is one of the quickest ways to spread it, too. On Facebook, all I have to do is click the share button and spread something that may not even be the slightest bit true, but 1,000 people could see it within a matter of five minutes by the press of one button. Advertising targets many people and these people then spread this information quicker than ever before. 

The third reason is exposure. Users are able to select the information and advertisements that they want to see. It is so common for us to choose what we want to see or do not want to see on the internet, and social media makes that easy for us to do. If you only want to see political posts, you can follow only political sites and figures; if you don’t want to see it, you can block it or unfriend it. Either way, it’s up to you. We can spread information and fake news so quickly and we don’t even realize it. Just the other day I was scrolling through Facebook and saw an article about a 30 car pile up on 127. I instantly freaked out and thought “OMG, this is crazy.” I opened the article and saw the date; it was from 2014! So It was totally irrelevant but here I am reading this fake news that someone shared, and that I almost fell for. People quit checking their sources and just started believing the first thing that they see. I think it’s important to know what is true vs. what is false before you just fall into the bandwagon of sharing things that aren’t true. It saves yourself the embarrassment and saves you from falling into the same path as others that share junk news. 

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According to my BIS 315 instructor, Big data is a term that describes the storage and analysis of large and complex data sets, that store and analyze broad scopes or data. Big data allows you to connect unrelated pieces of data together to form one big data analysis. Big data can be packaged, analyzed, and even SOLD. All of this occurs without us even knowing that it is happening. We use so many of these free services, such as google, Facebook, and Twitter, and we provide each of these platforms with so much information about ourselves, willingly. Think about Facebook; so many people get hacked on the daily. The information that you provide, can be sold and people can use that information to create accounts and impersonate you. I expect that the risk that comes along with social media will continue to grow tremendously over the next few years, more than what it is now. With companies and more applications trying to gain a competitive advantage, more and more platforms will be created, and more people will continue to give away their personal information.

According to Maciej Ceglowski, the internet is capable of much more than what we realize. So much of our data is stored and stolen. The internet is ONE establishment that allows for “buddy system” where people can share our information back and forth and, in some cases, sell it. The internet has become a dangerous place. It is so easy for people to hack and steal data in today’s world because there is so much that we are putting out there for people to see. Then in the article titled “The Original Sin,” Ethan Zuckerman discusses scenarios where advertising online is involved. Advertising has become the default model for businesses on the web. Advertising controls our lives in so many ways. You can’t even use a social media platform without seeing numerous advertisements. Businesses have definitely gained a strong advantage by the social media explosions in the past few years. Now, everyone can see their advertisements at any time and provide the company with revenue. You might be asking what advertising has to do with big data; well many times what we search for on our phones or computers is generated into big data and is analyzed and then people can send advertisements straight to our doorsteps in the blink of an eye. It seems as though someone is always watching you so they can make their sales pitch; this is surveillance. This puts all of your information at risk. Have you ever noticed that if you search for something in google or on amazon, then click on your Facebook account, and you’re seeing ads for that item? That’s another result of big data and the many things that it is capable of. Sometimes I think back to what the world was like before we had such readily available information at our finger tips and it shocks me to think about just how much things have changed. 

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The Offline Experiment

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like without social media? Have you ever tried to live without it? Well, this past week I tried and I failed and then I tried again and failed some more. I came to realize, it is IMPOSSIBLE to live without technology, but can I survive without social media? 

Last week I shared with you my thoughts about Sherry Turkle’s interview and her perspectives on technology. This week, I tried to do an experiment and see just how long I could go without technology. I work at an accounting firm and every single thing that I do is based upon the use of a computer. On Monday when I first tried starting this experiment, I spent a total of 14 hours between looking at my phone, my work computer, and my own laptop at home. 14 out of 24 hours is crazy, right?! Although 8 hours was spent at work, an hour was spent between various social media platforms and sending text messages. The other 4 hours were spent on my laptop doing homework. This was another choice that I DID NOT have. As a college student, everything that I do I must have a computer for. I had three assignments due by Monday night that required me to use my computer. It’s crazy to think that my entire day was spent staring at a screen to get paid and for my pleasure. 

The next day I had classes from 9:00-3:00 and I told myself that I would try to keep my phone in my back pack and not look at it unless it went off. Well, whenever it did go off, I would look at it and then I would continue looking at it. I kept “restarting” this experiment and I was ashamed of myself and I was ashamed that I couldn’t do it. Once I was home that night and distracted, I could easily stay away from my phone. I didn’t need Facebook or snapchat and I was fine with that. I’m not a social media addict but I do fully agree with Turke’s statement, that “we are trained to not get bored.” Once I found myself bored and alone I was drawn to my phone and quick to jump on Facebook or Twitter. I failed miserably at this experiment because so much of my life revolves around technology. I would survive without Facebook and other social media platforms, but without technology I wouldn’t be able to do my job and I wouldn't be able to pass my classes. The world has changed and there’s nothing I can do about it. I DO NOT have a choice on if I use the internet and technology or not anymore; I am trained to do so in every aspect of my life. We may be consumed in our phones and computers, but honestly, every person is addicted in some sort of way and I don’t think that will ever change. I can only hope that I remain the same and do not rely on social media more than what I already do in the years to come. 

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“Our devices change not only what we do, but who we are”

Sherry Turkle's interview and read Emma Rathbone's article, "Before the Internet,” are by far the most powerful messages I have received in quite some time. This interview and the article are about social media and the effects that it has our day to day lives, our relationships, and the world we live in. These pieces offer us so much to consider and so much to think about. We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow and instead of spending time with the ones we love, we are glued to our phones and wasting valuable time that we will never get back. In the interview with Sherry Turkle, she states that social media promises us three things: “We can always be heard, we can be where ever we want to be, and we can never be alone.” When you’re scrolling through Facebook or Twitter, you aren’t aware of all of the time that you’re wasting or the things that are taking place around you. Social media is an escape for us when we are bored, and as Turkle said, when we are lonely. She mentions that society is teaching our kids that we never have to be lonely and, in some cases, that’s just not true. In life, you have to face things on your own and sometimes nobody is there to hold your hand. We rely on social media for our words of encouragement, so stay informed in the latest gossip, and sometimes, to bully behind a screen. Turkle also mentions that we think that we always have to be heard. Growing up, I was taught that everyone has an opinion, but that doesn’t mean that you need to voice it. Sometimes it’s better to just keep quiet and keep the judgment or opinion to yourself but all of these social media platforms allow anyone to voice their opinion whenever they please, which sometimes causes many issues.

  My favorite thing to do in the world is attend concerts. I am a huge music lover. When attending concerts, you’d think that people would want to stare at their favorite artist up on stage who they paid hundreds of dollars to see. Instead, people are looking at their phones, watching the concert through a screen, something they could’ve done at home. They truly miss the thrill and the enjoyment of the concert, because they are worried about taking videos of it. Even when I go to a party, every person there has their phone out and they are recording themselves being obnoxious, recording themselves singing, or even just taking endless selfies. We miss out on moments with our friends and family because we are so confused. I’m not saying that I’m perfect because I’m not. I’m guilty of looking at the phone for what I think is going to be two minutes, and when I finally look up, the two minutes turned into twenty. The video that Bill shared in the Interview with Turkle, makes me so sad because I’ve had those moments with my significant other and you don’t realize how horrible it actually is that we would rather look at a phone than enjoy the presence of another person we care about. 

In the article written by Rathbone, she addresses that when someone used to change schools or move to a new town, nobody would know anything about them. Today, that just doesn’t happen. I come from an area where even if you have never met someone, you follow them on social media and stay informed about their life just because you can. Then when you see that person in your local grocery store, you don’t talk, but on social media, you will. It’s the sad truth but that’s exactly how it is. The following statement spoke tremendously to me: “Before the Internet, you could move to a new state and no one at school would know anything about you. You’d have no online history. You could be anyone.” To think that I could meet someone, and they have no clue about me, or where I went to school or who my friends are, and they met me and got to know me, not my social media “me”, what would life be like? It’s a crazy thought. 

Turkle stated that today’s children are taught that they never have to be bored. We don’t draw anymore, we don’t use our creativity, and we don’t try to spark up a new conversation. We just turn to our phone. But, what if we can’t? Sometimes we are forced to live without the Wi-Fi and without the cell phone reception. This actually happened to me a few years ago when I went on a family camping trip. My dad thought it would be cool to go on a rustic trip in the UP, where there was no electricity, so that meant when my phone died, it was dead for GOOD. The first few hours of not having a phone and not being able to “check your messages” was hard. I felt so disconnected from everyone and everything. I almost felt as if something was missing. After two days went by, I got used to it though and I actually didn’t mind not having my phone. I was able to go for bike rides and go swimming and hang out with my family without being distracted. My sixteen-year-old sister had a very hard time with this, though. She figured out that if she sat in the vehicle, she could just charge her phone and use it there. She missed out on many important moments because she was sitting in the car on her phone, instead of sitting around a campfire or playing games with the family. When you look at the situation from the outside looking in, you realize just how crazy that is and it made me realize that I do NOT want to be like that and that I want to actually enjoy the one life that I have to live. Since then I have changed my ways. When I got out to dinner with friends, I keep my phone in my purse and I enjoy their company. When I get to see my boyfriend, I keep my phone in the other room and I just try to talk to him. I have learned to use my phone and when to not use it, but sometimes it is hard. Social media may control the world, but I do not want it to control mine. I hope you feel the same and try to enjoy the little moments that we miss out on by letting social media consume us.

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Introduction!

Hi Everyone! My name is Haley Shankel. I am currently a 5th year student here at Central Michigan University. I am enrolled as a senior pursuing an Accounting Degree with a minor in Business Information Systems. 

I am from a small town that’s about twenty minutes from Mt. Pleasant, Called Breckenridge, Michigan, not Colorado. We are so small that we are considered a village instead of a town. I first began pursing my accounting career at Delta Community College, located in Saginaw. I spent three years there and completed all my basics and had my first few accounting classes. 

My plan is to pursue an Accounting Career at Blystone and Bailey, CPA’s, where I started interning in January of 2018. I am planning to start studying for the CPA exam this summer. 

I plan to accomplish many different tasks within this blog. I want to further my knowledge in technology, business, and real-world events and I want to help others pursue and further their knowledge as well. I am going to be involved in keeping up with others blog posts and staying informed in business and technology all over the world. I will begin by staying involved with the Wall Street Journal. I hope to connect with each of my followers in some sort of way, as well.

A company that I believe does a great job with Social Media presence and involving the community, is Sam’s Club. As a former Sam’s Club employee, I can personally say that Sam’s Club goes above and beyond to advertise their company and their products, all while pleasing their members and the community. The first Sam’s Club was opened in April of 1983. Since then, it has been a goal of Sam’s Club associates to go above and beyond for their members and provide them with the best service possible. Sam’s Club currently offers A Sam’s Club App, where you can shop online, get coupons, and make payments on your Sam’s Club credit card. This app is quite effective, but the new hottest app is called Scan & Go. This is an app where you can shop in stores on your phone, AND check out! Instead of waiting in line, members can use their phone to scan bar codes on the items they want and check out at any time they please. Sam’s club has many TV advertisements, and in store employees hand out hundreds of coupons and flyers per day, sharing the latest sales and deals. They also have a FB page and Twitter Account that they are quite active on. When I was a Sam’s Club employee, I was apart of the Blitz Crew, and it was my job to be the marketer for Sam’s Club, so I would call members to let them know when their membership was about to expire, what deals they could get, and about the most current prices for our memberships. Anytime a business member wanted to renew their membership in advance, I would set up an appointment to travel to their place of work and renew their membership without them coming to the store. This was something that we advertised, and we had received a lot of positive feedback about. Sam’s Club is also very generous and involved in the community by donating to many different organizations and clubs, and even families in need.

Having all these different social media platforms, allows Sam’s Club to be involved in Mass Collaboration and create a collaborative community. The community at Sam’s Club, is mainly business members or large families who seek to purchase items in a larger quantity, hence coming together for a common purpose, demand, or need. The Scan & Go app, allowed members to participate, the Website allows Sam’s Club to be collective, and Twitter & Facebook allow for transparency, independence, persistence and Emergence. Social Media allows for the members to collaborate any time, any place, and anywhere, and allows members to leave reviews, benefiting others, as well as the company itself. Without Social Media Platforms and these six principles of Mass collaboration, I am not sure how companys such as Sam’s Club would operate today. It would be very interesting to see.

Here are the links to Sam’s Club social media platforms:

Sam’s Club Website

Facebook Page 

Twitter