I have blogged a lot about Twitter
but it is only because I have just now become an active user of Twitter. When
you look at my Twitter page, it is pretty pitiful. I have only 8 followers and
I am following only 16 people. Going into an Advertising career, I know that
Twitter can be a high source of connections through businesses and individual
people. One thing that people want to do on Twitter is stand out. Without good
connections, it can be hard to sell products, create brand awareness for
clients, and have interaction with people you have things in common with in the
business world. After browsing through Media Bistro, I discovered an article
on how to really stand out on Twitter. By following these five steps, you can
work to build your Twitter connections. So don’t just get lost in the crowd, let yourself be heard. To view the article, click the link below.
Me
Friday, February 24, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Addicted?
I was sitting at home the other
night watching TV. In the show I was watching, the girl had to go to a drug
rehabilitation center. While she was there, the doctors and nurses made her
give up any form of technological devices she had with her, just so she could
focus on herself and recovering. She explained later that she felt incomplete
without her phone or computer to talk to people or to surf the Internet. As I
sat there with the TV on, my laptop open, and my phone beside me, I realized
how much I was constantly relying on my technology to stay busy. I really
thought about how many hours a day I spend on the Internet, mostly on social
media sites. I could probably say, on average, I spend about 5 hours on the
Internet a day. Like I stated in a previous post, I don’t have a Smartphone so
all of this Internet activity is on my laptop. I know many people spend that
much time online and even more but I began to wonder if I, along with my
generation, has some sort of an Internet addiction. I was browsing through
Mashable and came across the perfect Blog post that was relating to my
question. On the post, there are statistics shown that really shocked me. I
realized I wasn’t the only one feeling like I have an addiction to the
Internet. Out of a survey of 602 people, 61% stated that they feel addicted to
the Internet while only 39% think they could quit if they wanted. I know a few
people that are hardly ever on the computer, except for schoolwork, and have
NEVER created a social media site. I have spoken with them and they never have
been able to understand the addictive nature of the Internet. Looking at my
generation and at these statistics, these few people I know are very rare
during this time. Going into the Advertising field, Internet and social media
will play a large role in my career and probably even more in the future. Even
though I enjoy being outside and participating in activities outside the
Internet, I don’t find it odd that people say they spend countless number of
hours online. Social media is a big part of today’s society and it establishes
many connections between people and businesses. So do you consider yourself an
addict of the Internet? Check out this Blog post to see how you compare to the
statistics.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Uh, Oh Tim Tebow
Funny story. My roommate’s cousin is an excellent user of
Adobe Photoshop. One day, she decided it would be funny to take an image of her
sister and one of Tim Tebow and put them together into one picture, as if they
were posing together. She then posted the picture on her Facebook page and it
got a lot of attention from her Facebook friends. Even though she had posted
the picture only for her friends' entertainment, she found the picture a few
days later on various other websites. Someone had gotten a hold of the picture
and had placed it on a national website with the title, “Tim Tebow’s Secret
Girlfriend.” This girl had only created this picture as a joke for her sister
and her friends but when the wrong person got a hold of it, it turned into much
more. Now, if you type “Tim Tebow’s secret girlfriend” into Google, this fake
picture is the first image that appears. The article that includes this picture
mentions that Tim Tebow and this mystery woman have been hiding their
relationship for a few months. Because I know the girl involved, I know this
information is not true but many people may not. This is a perfect example of
how fast and easy it is to spread news and gossip through Social Media, whether
it is true or not. This example really makes people think about how many things
they may read in the tabloids that are probably not true. Many people believe
anything they read on the Internet, especially when it comes to celebrities,
but they don’t realize how easy it is for something like this to happen. This
joke turned into worldwide known gossip in less than a week; imagine how much
information is out there that just started as a joke? If you want to read the
article about “Tim Tebow’s Secret Girlfriend”, the link is found below.
-Sorrell
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Reflection
On
Thursday afternoon, Mark Schaefer, author of the Tao of Twitter, came to speak
to our class. One thing that he said that really caught my attention was that,
“everyone can have a voice, everyone can publish, and everyone can have power.”
After he said this, it really made me realize how true that statement is.
Before the use of the Internet, it was much harder for people to have their
voice be heard. While people could post stuff in newspapers, write a book, or
join a protest, it was much harder for people to stand up for things they believed
in or state their opinion on specific topics. As the use of social media has
increased, more and more people realize how much they can have an impact in the
world about anything they are interested in speaking about. Whether it’s
posting a status on Facebook, posting a tweet on Twitter, or starting your own
Blog, anyone can have his or her thoughts out there for the public to see in
less than 5 seconds. Today, people use the Internet and social media to promote
their business, stay connected with old friends, and write about their lives.
Because the Internet makes it so easy to let your voice be heard, Mark Schaefer
is right when he says that anyone can have power. Being a political figure or a
celebrity, your voice can be heard by almost anyone. Being just an average
citizen, it is much harder to have the power to have people listen to what you
have to say. If you get enough people to read into your Facebook, Twitter,
Blog, or any other social networking site, you can be just as powerful as
anyone else. After writing a book on the uses of Twitter, Mark Schaefer is an
expert when it comes to getting his voice heard. With 36,068 followers and
26,205 tweets on Twitter, Mark Schaefer has really learned the techniques of
making people listen to him. Being an Advertising student, I would really like
to have my name out there for people to know me. This statement from Mark
Schaefer really made me realize how easy it is to do that.
-Sorrell
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Pin it!
I have always loved arts and crafts. Ever since I was
little, my favorite things to do were “color” and draw pictures. Because of my
love of art, I decided I wanted to major in Graphic design. I took countless
numbers of art classes in high school and continued in to college. Even though
I switched my major to Advertising, I still found myself drawn to the “creative”
side of Advertising. After creating my Pinterest account, I found myself
overwhelmed with the amount of art projects I wanted to do. No matter if you
are creative or not, Pinterest teaches anyone to be creative. Pinterest has
anything for anyone to be interested in. Whether you want to design your
wedding, your children’s bedroom, or your garden, there is always something
artistic and easy for you to do. I find myself on Pinterest almost everyday and could spend hours browsing through everything it has to offer. Below are a few links to some of the items
I was drawn to, but it is only a few out of many!
-Sorrell
To tweet, or not to tweet
Well it’s begun. My twitter
“habit.” I woke up this morning, turned on the light, turned off my alarm, and
tweeted. The tweet read, “Accounting at 8am. Worst decision ever. #iwantmybed.”
Never in a million years would I have thought that the first thing I do in the
morning is post to Twitter. I would have paid money for that extra minute of sleep
but now I’m using it to Tweet? The powers of social media…
I never have kept a steady journal
in my life, although I tried. Getting up this morning, I wanted to express to
someone how badly I did not want to leave my bed and Twitter made that easy.
It’s a way for me to write about my day and the things that go on without
having to remember it all and write it all down in a journal at the end of the
day. I am no expert at Twitter yet and I have only had about 15 tweets but hey,
it’s a start! So far, I have enjoyed posting about things that have happened
and truly enjoy reading posts from the people I follow. It is slowly but surely
becoming a habit. The link below is a video perfect for demonstrating how
Twitter can be a large part of an individual’s daily life. I enjoyed the creativity behind it...hope you enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIpD7hfffQo
-Sorrell
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Iwhat?
As I sit here on my laptop, I
realize one reason I have never gotten very involved with the social media
site, Twitter. Today, looking around my class, I noticed almost every single
classmate of mine was on their Iphone, or other smart phone. As I took a glimpse
around the room and then back at my own desk, I noticed my LG enV2 cell phone. As the use of social media has increased more
and more, especially through cell phones, I have found that my phone cannot keep up with all the smart phones. Don't get me wrong, I love my phone but it just isn't for me if I'm interested in cellphone social network use. In today’s world, all a person has to
do, if they want to post anything on their social media site, is take out their smart phone and simply post it. My sister has the same phone as me and although she
has a way of posting her “tweets” through the non-smart phone, I find it way
too difficult. In order for me to view Facebook, Twitter, or any other social
media site, I have to actually take out my laptop, turn it on, and go through
the process of logging into the social media sites. Now, this may seem easy and
take very little energy but as I see others very simply using their phones,
that they can carry and take out almost anywhere, it makes taking my laptop out
seem very difficult. I used to tell people, “I don’t need an Iphone, it’s
totally pointless and I would never use all the “stuff” that comes on it”, but
now I couldn’t disagree more. I enjoy using my Facebook and Twitter just as
much as the next person but let’s just say It’s not as easy for me to “tweet”
every second of the day if I wanted to. So, until I get my very own smart
phone, looks like I’ll be laptop “tweeting.” Maybe one day that will change...
-Sorrell
Keepin' it private
Because this is my very first
experience with a blog, I am a little hesitant. After doing research, I have
learned that there is NO “right way” to blog. Everyone has their own unique way
of posting words, whether it’s from gathered information or their own thoughts.
I’m not sure why I had trouble getting this second blog post out there but I
did and now, here it is. I used to see a blog as just an online casual journal
but the more it is stressed that it is used in a business sense, the more it gives
me anxiety that I put the right information and “stuff” on my Blog.
This brings me to my next thought…the
other day in my Ad/Pr 490 Class, we discussed the privacy of Social Media. I
have always been very careful with “who” sees my Facebook account and “what”
has been put up on my Facebook page. The reason I only mention Facebook is
because although I have a Twitter, MySpace, Pinterest, etc. account, Facebook
is the one social network that I use most often. Although I am as careful as I
can be, I always feel like there still are ways for anyone to see my
information. Dr. Childers, from my 490 Class, mentioned a blog post on Facebook
Privacy. The post is entitled “10 settings Every user needs to know.” In order
to view this blog, go to http://mashable.com/2011/02/07/facebook-privacy-guide/.
When updating your privacy settings on Facebook, you may feel like you’re
forgetting something, or at least I do, and not all your information is blocked.
This blog really helped me to feel confident that all of my information was
hidden and hopefully this will help others.
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